The narrow road

Magic Post 127

2008-06-16T08:14:00.002+08:00

Yes, this is the magic post.

It's the landmark post.

It's the post that says:

I have moved to Wordpress.

Whoa. Wait. What?

I have indeed moved over to Wordpress, just because it allows me to organise my page better, looks very nice, is equally easy to use, has cooler widgets on it, gives me more options when writing and has an integrated statistical service. All in all, it gives me what I want.

So here is the page:

wengyew.wordpress.com

Enjoy!

P.S. I don't think I'll be shutting down this page for another half a year to a year or so. I'm testing to see whether Google is (understandably) biased towards Blogger.

Finished!

2008-06-14T01:34:00.002+08:00

Wow. This is amazingly anti-climatic.

So the 5 papers were pretty good. Not sure how well I did overall, but I was pretty happy. One or two mess-ups here and there, but I figured I did the best I could at the moment.

I'm currently sleep-deprived. I slept 6-7 hours the first night - micro - was too excited! It rapidly disintegrated after that. Namely 5 hours the next night - history. 4 the night after - macro. 3 before the politics paper. Oh. And 4-5 yesterday. Today was the math paper.

But yeah. I've finished my first year of uni. Time really does fly.

Now to figure out what to do next week...

You'll never believe this...

2008-06-10T05:42:00.003+08:00

You can see me on one of the brief video clips Passion filmed in London!

Yeah. A big black blob.

Lol.

But seriously, if there were more pixels, and a bit more light, you could make me out clearly.

In case you're wondering what videos, check out their MySpace page.

Facing the stage, I'm on the far right of the first tier. I'm on the corner nearest to the bathroom (that lit up green sign on the right wall). Well technically Cheryl's on that corner, but I'm just one to the left. And in case you're wondering which videos, the first is O Praise Him, taken from the left side of the stage. And the second is How Great is Our God, taken from somewhere behind me. I'm one of those big black blobs, somewhere in that indistinguishable mass of darkness. I was trying to work out which pair of hands, or hand I was, but it's a bit hard with that many up in the air. You can also barely make out my general position from Blessed Be Your Name. Heh.

OK. Back to revision now...

Passion London

2008-06-06T20:54:00.004+08:00

I'm still feeling the WOWness from last night.

So in the end it was 3000 students in the Hammersmith Apollo for one loud night of worship. Here are several thoughts about the event in no order whatsoever:

He is here.
Our God is a God who saves.
Your grace is enough.
It's rising up all around, it's the anthem of the Lord's renown.
David Crowder has life-size tattoos of Chris and Matt on each shoulder.
Sing Sing Sing.
You alone can lift us from the grave.
Mighty to save.
Shine your light.
Yes, Lord!
Fruitcakes and ice-cream.
LOL.
Blank blank.
If we're out of our mind, it's for God's sake.
Grace.
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Christ's love compels us.
David Crowder*Band! :)
Here is our King
There is no one like You
How could You be so good to me
You are my JOY
Exuberant violin.
After all our hands have wrought He forgives
Banjo - Instrument of the future!
I saw the light.
O praise Him.
Manila! Manila! Manila!
Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city.
How great is our God!

It was an amazing night of worship. Crazy powerful. And loud. I lost my voice. In hindsight, a bit unwise to blast it all out at Sing Sing Sing, which was only the 4th (or 5th) song of the night. But we were seated near the front, far right. And that was where the bass speakers were located. So you couldn't help but sing a bit louder, just so you could hear yourself and be sure that there was still something coming out of your open mouth.

Louie has a gift for inspiring people to live for Jesus. And he told Ashley's story at the end of his talk. I never knew the depth of it aside from one or two blog posts, but hearing the whole story for the first time left me in tears. Literally. Especially the fact that I already knew the ending just made it all the more poignant.

Matt Redman's new song is still replaying itself over and over in my head.

And my voice recovered in time for the David Crowder end to the night. Ah. What joy!

You can probably catch the podcast in a day or two. Don't miss it! :D
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Oh. And I suppose a comparison with Passion 2007 in Atlanta would be nice to add. They were two totally different events really, and I enjoyed both for different reasons. So it'll be like comparing apples with oranges. But I'll try.

Passion 2007 was a turning point in my walk with Jesus. It's been a long time since Passion 2007 and God has taught me a lot since then, so to use C.S. Lewis' idea, it's not that Jesus has grown, but it is we who grow and we see Him as bigger and bigger. In that sense, Passion London was just massive!

Passion London, First Thoughts

2008-06-06T07:19:00.004+08:00

Wow. This was an amazing night. Will need time to process (and to wait for Louie's official count of students and things like that.)

I'll just end this post by posting up the chorus and bridge from Matt Redman's new song. Simply amazing.

1st Chorus:
You alone can rescue
You alone can save
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us - led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise

2nd Chorus:
Now we are more than conquerers through your deathless love
And nothing Lord will have a hold on us
You’re the saving promise - You will never fail
To You alone belongs the highest praise

Bridge:
We lift up our eyes, we lift up our eyes, You are the giver of life

The Empty Cross

2008-06-02T22:10:00.006+08:00

So I lied. The next post wasn't on the Supremacy of God. It's in the works, by which I mean, not quite started, by which I mean it'll come out when it's ready. But this one has been churning in my heart for days.

The Purpose-Driven Life is an extremely popular book. There are some nuggets of truth in there. But I had my reservations about it when I first read it. Why? Because it appeared to be a book that some people treasured more than the Bible.

In my opinion, it does more harm than good. The misuse of Scripture is deceiving. And what's worse is that there's no mention of the cross. Of its necessity. That Jesus had to die to take away our sin. There is no gospel without Christ crucified. The Bible calls it the stumbling block. And for good reason. It is weakness and foolishness to those who do not understand it. But it is the power and wisdom of God for those who are saved.

Christian book marketing is becoming viral nowadays. There's Bruce Wilkinson's the Prayer of Jabez - another terrible book, and there's Joel Osteen's - Your Best Life Now - probably the worst of the lot. In Rick Warren's defense, he does not commit the errors of these two books - that of a prosperity, health and wealth movement - I won't call it Gospel, because it is in no way good news.

But he still omits the cross. Whether this is a worse offense than misusing Scripture, I will not be able to say. But if at any time I ever present the gospel to anyone and leave out the cross, feel free to admonish me.

I heard this rhetorical question once. "Would a book titled the Cross-Driven Life sell as well?"

I know it's rhetorical, but the answer must still be said. No.

I am trying to bring across the central importance of the cross to the gospel. Without it, we are still sinners, and we have no claims to the promises of God. And I'm trying to highlight how culture, and what's worse, those purporting to be Christian culture, are beginning to twist or omit it. Be wary when you read books on 'Christian Living' - I am not sure what the category specifically entails, but it seems to classify those books which addresses the question of how the Christian life should look like - and there is no mention of the cross. And be especially wary when you read books that talk about Evangelism and the Gospel, and there is no mention of the cross.

I've written on how the cross is omitted today. I'll move on to address how it is twisted.

I'm sure many of the people reading this would have remembered watching the Passion of the Christ. Now, while I do not seek to downplay the physical suffering of Jesus, the film is disappointing on three aspects. The first is that it is extra-biblical. People always wonder why they never read some of the scenes in the Bible. They are in fact the writings of a Catholic nun, Anne Emmerich. So be wary of taking the film as truth. The second is somewhat related to the first. I am unhappy at how it 'plays up' the physical suffering of Jesus. The reason for this is its Catholic roots, and their focus on the 'Passion' or Sufferings of Christ. The third is that it 'plays up' the role of Mary - again another Catholic thing.

Being in danger of turning this into a Catholic-bashing post, I want to first add that I do not agree with the main doctrines of the Catholic Church, or at least the beliefs which they appear to hold fast to today. That being said, like many other denominations, just because one's church is labeled Catholic does not mean you hold to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. There are definitely those that have remained faithful to the Bible and to the Gospel.

It is the second point I want to expound on. I have heard many stories of people being moved to tears by the movie. I have also heard many stories of people being horrified by the sheer brutality of the movie. I myself was a bit shocked and horrified and a bit wet around the eyes, but I was not a big fan of the movie. There was something wrong with it.

I identified why properly sometime last week. While we should never dismiss the physical sufferings of Christ, it is the spiritual suffering he went through that is of greater weight. On Good Friday, we remember not the Passion of Jesus Christ in its physical sense, but in its spiritual sense, in the separation he endured from the Father that our sins might be paid for. For while Jesus was human, I do not see his physical suffering to be of the import as portrayed in this Catholic film, given that he had shown tremendous control over his body when he was tempted by Satan in the desert. In this time, he had sustain himself with the Word of God. At Calvary, I believed He lost the same sort of comfort: "My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?"

The Bible does point to the sufferings of Christ as important. Hebrews 2:18 tells us: "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 4:15-16 says that "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

But I want to point out the reason why our symbol is an EMPTY cross. Not the crucifix of the Catholic church. For while Christ suffered and died for us in order to pay the price for our sin by the shedding his blood, and while his sufferings gives us the assurance that he is able to help us, it would have been in vain if he had not risen. His resurrection is the Father's stamp of approval on the work of His Son.

This is why we have the empty cross. It is proof that Jesus has triumphed over sin and death, and that His promises are true. That whoever knows Him will have eternal life. We do not celebrate the suffering man on the cross. We celebrate the empty cross.

So the next time you see the cross, remind yourself of these two glorious facts. The first fact is that it is a reality. There is a cross. It was necessary to pay the price for our sin. There is no gospel when there is no cross. The second fact is that it is empty. The price for our sin was indeed paid for, and we have the assurance of a living hope. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus - He is Lord over all, even death.

The Attributes of God: My Perception + Additional Note

2008-05-23T03:43:00.007+08:00

My readership numbers have been unusually constantly high for the past 2 weeks. It's either my stat counter is broken, or this fact is true, or I should consider moving to Wordpress like everyone seems to be doing nowadays.

That was the additional note. Strangely enough, it came at the start because it came most recent to me. The last shall be first, no?

This is the disclaimer:

In my recent spate of posts on the attributes of God, I write as if intently gazing out one of the many windows of my small abode at the infinite world that lies beyond, and mulling over that which my eye perceives, limited as it is by the finite horizon and more significantly, that tint which stains all my windows, the stain of sin. Yet there is a sheen on my windows. It is the characteristic polish of the inerrant truth of Scripture, graciously applied by the Spirit. And never forget that cross-shaped frame that looms large over the windows - for every so often, a whiff of the outside air, fresh and warm, laden with all sorts of wondrous and exciting scents, filters in through the seams of that glorious frame!

Or explaining my allegory above:

I do have a tendency towards romanticising my writings. It is not a bad tendency as such; but it is one that easily leads to pride. But as it is, as long as I keep that in mind, it is rather fun to write in an uncharacteristic manner! And I believe this is my cleverest one so far.

If you wish to be spared the following process, skip on to the next section.
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The abode represents me and the world in which I live in. Not the world around me per se, but the components that make ME. My thoughts, my experiences, my feelings, my environment, my relationships and that sense of irrationality that seems common to all men (and women). Though in retrospect, perhaps it is not a sense of irrationality, but rationality that conflicts with the irrationality of our rebellion. A common grace if you will. But I digress.

The world beyond represents God. Not that He can be conformed to any man-made image, and it would be heretical to do so, but my metaphor as it is will be imperfect and as long as I point out this fundamental flaw, it is alright to proceed.

Then note the dichotomy of small abode and infinite world.

My perception of God is limited as it is by what He allows me to perceive, thus the 'finite horizon'. Yet I would have no right perception of God at all, for my windows are all stained dark with the reality of sin. In our sin, we believe that if there lies a world beyond our abode, it is a world of our own making. And of course some believe there doesn't lie one beyond.

Yet in His graciousness, God sends His Son Jesus Christ to take on our sin, and so reconcile us back to God. And thus it is the cross that is the frame of any knowledge I will have of God. It is the image that looms largest. It is through this that I can know God as He truly is. Not just know about Him, but experience Him - that breath of fresh and warm air. And it is the Spirit that guides us into all truth, truth as was, and is, because the word of God is living and active as God Himself is, expressed in the Scriptures - the specific revelation of God.

So the tint remains, for while we are here, our flesh and the Spirit constantly wage war against each other. And while we remain here on this earth, we only perceive God partially, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 - refer back to the post that sparked this off for a slight elaboration of this point. But it is brightly polished.by the Spirit and Scripture, and as such I can now look out and see the world beyond.

And yes, the point of windows is not to look at the windows, but to look at what lies beyond the windows. In a sense, this image echoes a quote I read about, not journeying past the cross, but going deeper into the cross. In the same manner, the more intently we gaze out, the more deeply we go into the cross. Also, on another point, I am looking out through one window. There are many windows, and there are many perceptions of God - same God I must stress, just as you wouldn't assume to be looking out on Earth through one window, and out on Mars through the next - in His complexity and incomprehensible infinitude.

As I elaborate, I realise that I could extend this allegory much further. I could be having a meal with Jesus. The Spirit could be the one actively cleaning out this house of mine - not as a slave, but as a friend. But I'll probably hit a lot of issues, so I'd just stop here.

Finally, one day, the door of my abode will open, and I'll walk out into the world beyond. (Although again the allegory breaks down in that I don't become one with the world, but rather I walk into the presence of the world, and then substituting world with God, even though I technically should avoid that sort of muddling.)
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Simply put, I don't write with any claims to being an authority on this subject. I don't consider my treatment of this topic as complete, in two senses of the word. First in that it is the final say on the matter. And second in that it is the whole truth. It is neither whole, nor final, but I do want to say that as best as I have tried, I have stuck to the truth as is revealed by God through the Bible and the guidance of the Spirit. Also, bear in mind that my interpretation is that of a layman, and not of a dedicated scholar.

I think that was all I had to say. What an amazingly long post!

Next up: The Supremacy of God.

When I have time.

That is to say, when I have time to write.

Not when I have time for it to matter to me.

The Attributes of God: The Solitariness of God

2008-05-17T04:25:00.002+08:00

I was listening to the song "God of This City" from the most recent Passion release - great song by the way - and there was a line that resounded deep within my heart:

There is no one like our God.

I would love to throw biblical text after biblical text, psalm after psalm, that screams this very fact. Romans 11:33-38; 1 Timothy 1;17, 6:15-16; Isaiah 40:25 are all but a taste of this amazing truth.

Who is as loving? Who is as gracious? Who is as merciful? Who is as powerful? Who is as holy? Who is as faithful? Who is as sovereign? Who is as wise? Who is as patient?

I could rattle off all the attributes of God, and realise that nothing compares to our God.

And might I stress, 'our God'. Who is this God? This is the God who made the heavens and the earth, and all that is in it. The God who created man and women, in His own image, and gave them breath and life, and commanded them to subdue the earth. The God who easily crushes His enemies. The God who patiently bore with a corrupt Israel, who time and time again turned from Him.

The God who so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. The God who made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. The God who continues to graciously give us all that we need, sustaining us in our time of need. The God who lifts up the broken. The God who restores strength to the weary. And the God who will one day judge the living and the dead, and raise His redeemed people up to heaven where they will be forever satisfied in His presence.

The solitariness of our God is a funny thing. It evokes reverence for certain, and I might add a fearful reverence. But there's a kind of fear that creates both apprehension and comfort. And a kind of fear that induces terror in the very fibre of a man's soul. The first kind of fear belongs to His chosen people, the ones He has delivered out of the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves. It is a fear that makes us wary of approaching the glorious God, yet it is also a fear that assures us that if He is for us, who can be against us?

The second kind of fear belongs to those who remain condemned for their continued rebellion. It is the sort of fear that strips a man of his defenses, a fear so penetrating and chilling that he can but fall to his knees and beg for undeserved mercy.

But as of now, the first kind of fear only exists. The second sort we will see when Jesus returns.

And so it is a wondrous sort of fear. A fear that trembles before the magnificence of a God, who has no equal, yet steadies us with the warm reassurance of the gracious love of God, expressed through His Son Jesus Christ. Fear becomes mingled with profound gratitude. We never lose this sense of transcendence, nor should we, but there is an indescribable feeling that comes from the immanence of God. That God would draw close to us is incomprehensible, yet true. And our hearts expand as we are filled with the reality of His being, and we overflow with genuine joy and heartfelt thanksgiving.

There is no one like our God.

The Attributes of God: God is Light

2008-04-18T00:12:00.005+08:00

God is Spirit. God is Light. And God is Love. This is the insight we gain from John into the person of God. This post deviates from grace, to talk about the phrase "God is Light".

We don't understand the significance of this phrase because light has become mundane for us. It is not only mundane, it is now subject to our command. We can flip a switch at will. And in doing so, we sometimes jokingly refer to the first words of God in the Bible:

Let there be light.

These first words are packed with so much power and truth, yet we so easily glance over it. It has become familiar to us - mundane was the word I used.

We need to look afresh at these very words. God is Light. And the first words we know He said were "Let there be light."

Or, "Let there be God."

I do not take this to mean God created Himself. No, the very existence of God lies outside of our understanding. What is the Clay to say to the Potter, "Why have you made me like this?" What more can the Clay say to the Potter, "Who made you?"

Instead, I take it to be the truest expression of God. God revealed Himself. It is who He is. He reveals Himself. Genesis was the revelation of God in creation. Without light we do not see. By light, we see everything. All of creation, we see by light. Therefore, is it not unsurprising that His first words were as such? For all things reveal God, and God reveals Himself through all things.

Yet we take this for granted as well. Creation has become mundane to us. We are no longer awed by it. Perhaps we're surrounded by familiar sights. The same wall that lies beyond the screen of my laptop. The table cluttered with books on which my laptop rests. These are familiar sights. So familiar that I give them no second thought.

This is a testament of man in his utter rebellion. He does not treasure light. He does not treasure all that it reveals. He is merely interested in subjecting it to his will. As such, how can he even begin to treasure its source?

But once again, we can treasure light, as it was, and as it truly is. For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It is the marvelous light of redemption by which we can perceive everything anew!

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined

This is the 'true light' as John calls it. The marvelous light of redemption. For a people condemned to eternal wrath by their rebellion against God, God has said once again, "Let there be light." This light is Jesus Christ. The Jesus who died for our sin, taking upon Himself the wrath of God, and was raised for our righteousness, a righteousness we cannot earn; rather His righteousness is now credited to us if we accept Jesus as Lord. The good news of what Jesus did on the cross - this is the marvelous light of redemption.

Those who live in Jesus, the one who died for our sins and was raised for our justification, live in the light. And those living in the light, do not live in darkness. Yes they are surrounded by a land of deep darkness. But on them a light has shined. A light that overcomes the darkness. It is everything bright and true. It is everything good. By this light we see things as they were, good. We see man as he was. Very good. We see things as they are now. Subject to futility. We see man as he is now. Utterly sinful and deserving of the wrath of God. And by this light, we see clearly who we are now. Saved. By grace. I guess we can never stray too far from grace.

Because we can never stray too far from the cross. The marvelous light of redemption. And it is by this light that we live. Despite the greatest of temptations, this light has overcome all darkness. Sin has lost its power. Keep bearing in mind this is the light that has given us this life. Keep bearing in mind this is the light in whom we live. Keep bearing in mind the power of this light in whom we live.

Dare we treat light so mundanely? Perhaps you might think differently next time you switch on your lights.

The Attributes of God: The mystery of grace, Part 1

2008-04-16T18:07:00.005+08:00

I've felt prompted for quite some time now to write a post on the grace of God. But I've been cracking my head trying to think up a metaphor that beautifully illustrates the grace of God, and haven't been able to find one. Which is why I never got round to writing this.

So now that I'm writing this, does that mean I've thought of an illustration?

The answer is no. And yes. I have not found an illustration, but I've stumbled on an even bigger illustration in the process itself. The reason why I cannot find an appropriate illustration may be because I'm just not a very creative person. But deep down, I also believe it's because nothing comes close to illustrating the grace of God, unique and incomprehensible in its very nature.

How do you define grace? There are several definitions I've found. The common one is that grace is unmerited favour. I think this does not define grace fully. Another one I've read is that grace is unmerited favour bestowed by God on His elect. This brings in the idea of grace being sovereign as well, that God chooses who He is gracious to. Again it is accurate, yet I feel it is incomplete.

To me the best definition of grace is this: Grace is God's favour through Christ to people who deserve his disfavour. I've talked much about undeserved favour, but do we ever consider how undeserved it is?

I'm reading a book called "Living the Cross Centered Life" by C.J. Mahaney right now. In it, I was struck by the enormity of the grace of God at the cross. I've often mentioned how we deserve the wrath of God for our rebellion to His authority, and I've compared it as infinitely worse to the fear and punishment we receive from angry parents as a small child, but I have never seen it in the light portrayed in this book.

The light here is Gethsemane. I had to play the role of Jesus in Gethsemane this Easter for the Sunday School kids, and even there I realised I could barely comprehend the agony Jesus suffered during this time. Mahaney says this of Gethsemane, along with a quote taken from William Lane's commentary on the gospel of Mark:

Jesus entered the garden 'to be with the Father for an interlude before his betrayal, but found Hell rather than Heaven open before him.' Knowing the hour for His death is fast approaching, Jesus has come here in need as never before of His Father's comfort and strength. instead, hell - utter separation from God - is thrust in His face.

We hear Him cry out: Father - is there an alternative? Is there any way to avoid this? If there's a way this cup could pass from Me, would you please provide that to Me?

Silence. We can see it in His face - Jesus receives no answer to this desperate entreaty.

A second time He pleads for an alternative to that horror of abandonment by His Father. If such an alternative existed, the Father would most surely provide it. But the obedient Son's plea to His loving Father is met with silence. Why?

Listen to this verse again for the very first time: For God so loved the world...that He is silent to His Son's agonising appeal.

This is what bearing our sin means to Him - utter distress of soul as He confronts total abandonment and absolute wrath from His father on the cross, a distress and an abandonment and a rejection we cannot begin to grasp.

In this, our Saviour's darkest hour...do you recognise His love for you?

The wrath of God is the thrust of Hell upon us. Eternal separation from God. Pain that Jesus chose to endure on our behalf. That is grace. We deserved everything Jesus endured, but He willingly drank of the cup of wrath so that we could drink from the cup of salvation. You cannot cherish the grace of God without truly understanding the depths of our depravity and the magnitude of the holy wrath directed at us. Mahaney ends the chapter with the following insight:

We can drink from this cup [of salvation] only because Jesus spoke those words about the other cup [of wrath]: "yet not what I will, but what you will."

I will drink it all.

As we watch Jesus pray in agony in Gethsemane, He has every right to turn His tearful eyes toward you and me and shout, "This is your cup. You're responsible for this. It's your sin! You drink it." This cup should rightfully be thrust into my hand and yours.

Instead, Jesus freely takes it Himself...so that from the cross He can look down at you and me, whisper our names, and say, "I drain this cup for you - for you who have lived in defiance of me, who have hated Me, who have opposed Me. I drink it all...for you."

This is what our sin makes necessary. This is what's required by your pride and my pride, by your selfishness and my selfishness, by your disobedience and my disobedience. Behold Him...behold His suffering...and recognise His love.

The love of God is a gracious love. It is a love that took our cup and drained it for us at great cost, so that we could drink from the other cup. Look no further than the cross for the illustration of grace.

And let us not spit on it.

The Attributes of God: Thunderstorms

2008-04-07T18:52:00.002+08:00

With the recent spate of afternoon thunderstorms, it seemed fitting to use this image to illustrate my first point.

God chose to answer Job out of a storm. Why?

It took me several afternoons to appreciate the magnificence of a thunderstorm. The sheer deluge of water sweeping across the sky, the howling wind, the deafening thunder, the brilliant flashes of lightning that leave a tingle in your spine - there are massive forces at work in a thunderstorm. And for God to speak out of a storm seems most appropriate to me, that God would choose to demonstrate His power and sovereignty in such a befitting manner.

Befitting?

"Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?"

"Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?"

The answer is no. No, if we are only human. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. Man attempts to predict the weather. They even try to create it. But only God can create something as magnificent as a thunderstorm.

And not only does He create it, He is in control of it! He sends the lightning bolts on their way. Who says lightning cannot strike twice? If God chooses to strike a 100 times, He can strike a 100 times.

This is the God whose power we can barely comprehend. And through Jesus Christ, He is in us.

Contemplate the sheer power we possess.

Bronze mirrors

2008-03-29T19:14:00.002+08:00

A comment I heard today prompted this thought. Have you ever wondered about all the strange things you don’t understand in the Bible, and then thought – well, when I get to heaven I’ll just ask God what He meant?

Funny thing is - the Bible is meant to reveal who God is. So when we do get to heaven and see God, we won’t really have any need to ask Him what He meant. Paul sums this up when he says, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

Somewhere in my gut, I think I might start a series on the person of God. The God who made Himself known through Jesus Christ.

Watch this space.

Reboot

2008-03-27T15:29:00.004+08:00

"We often make wholehearted commitments, only to realise that our hearts aren't whole to begin with."

Which is true of this blog. I've been slacking. But strangely my readership has increased. I think it's probably partly due to that Facebook link.

Anyways, after a month of absence, I've decided to abandon my daily posting system. It can be rather exhausting.

Instead I think I'll just post up simple statements. Like the above.

And every now and then I'll launch into a series on something that concerns me. And when I have time to do so.

In the meantime, stay safe and happy reading!

February 29, 2008

2008-03-01T00:26:00.003+08:00

So I woke up today and went to my online Bible reading page to see what today's passage was. To my surprise, they didn't factor in a Feb 29! The only 'break' I get in a year from the chronological guide.

Well. This means today's post will be a random blurt of mine.

I want to say:

18 days till I fly home! Yay!
23 days till Easter! YAY!
Flu! YA-, well maybe not..
God works in mysterious ways! YAY!

So I figured I'm going to write a bit about ~~my flu~~ the last point. I have ~~had it for over a week now and it doesn't seem to be going away as fast as I would like it to~~ been doing some extra thinking lately and been astounded at the way God weaves together little threads to form a larger and larger fabric that depicts His story. I can barely wrap my head around a basketball offensive play and the multi-directional off-the-ball runs by 2/3 players, or the amazing seemingly telepathic ability of ManUtd at times, and here He is, weaving an almost infinite number of threads from an almost infinite number of places, to fit tightly into one single pattern! Don't bother with David Blaine specials - just watch God at work!

Take Passion 07. That was AMAZING. Hadn't heard of it 6 months before. 6 months later I found myself with 23000+ others having my eyes and ears opened like they hadn't had before! And what were the little threads? Matt McGee. Tim (yes I would have really considered not going if you had not managed to make it, and this story on its own requires a few more threads to justify itself that even I can't begin to identify myself!), Rodney, Rodney's friends, plane ticket!, Matt's church, his family and friends, Christmas holidays, youth camp...that's all I can think of for now. And the ripples afterwards - can't begin to describe how deep they resounded. PLUS I just got news the day before yesterday about some stuff from Lydia - amazing how long these ripples can keep going for.

God moves in a mysterious way. Sometimes you wish you could unpack it. But upon reflection, all I need to know is His will is always good, pleasing and perfect. So perhaps it's better that the mystery remain for greater amazement!

#25: February 27, 2008

2008-02-27T19:42:00.002+08:00

It’s almost been a week. Today’s post was drawn from Numbers 10.

* * *

And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
Numbers 10:9

So the LORD spoke to Moses and told him to make two silver trumpets. He gave a description of how they were to be used. One of which was to sound it during war, so that “you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.”

Remembered? Doesn’t that imply God forgets things? You could almost imagine one of those cartoons where you have the big guy in the sky, with just the feet showing, and suddenly he hears a trumpet and goes, “Oh you’re still around! What is it you want now? Ohhh you’re fighting a war. Ok. Give me a minute while I hatch a plan to save you.”

But God doesn’t forget things. He’s sovereign over everything. Nothing happens that escapes His attention, simply because everything that happens is ordained by Him. So why the word ‘remember’?

It’s because it gives all glory to God. Picture this. Which scenario glorifies God more? The one where you’re fighting and suddenly your enemies turn and flee, and you’re left wondering what they’re doing? Or the one where you’re fighting and you call to God for help and He sends your enemies fleeing? It clearly is the second. It’s not a matter of God remembering us, because He always remembers us, but it is us remembering Him.

It’s a prayer for God to remember us. “Don’t forget us! We need you!” That should be the plea of every one of God’s people. The Israelites back in history, and we who are the people of God through Jesus Christ. It also serves to remind us that we are His people. “Remember us! We are the ones You have chosen to save!” It’s also an answered prayer. God always remembers us. But sometimes we just can’t feel His closeness. So we ask Him to remember us, and the fact is He does!

So when we’re facing trouble, we shouldn’t just face it on our own, and hope for divine intervention. We should call out to God, to remember us, and deliver us. It’s a sure promise. His method of deliverance might not be what we have in mind, but He will remember us and deliver us according to His good purpose.

And finally, if there are any doubts regarding this promise, it’s worth bearing in mind that we who are in Jesus Christ have called on His name, and we have been saved!

* * *

#24: February 21, 2008

2008-02-21T23:02:00.002+08:00

Today’s reflection is drawn from Leviticus 16.

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Leviticus 16 is a description of the Day of Atonement. One day a year, the high priest was to go into the Holy of Holies and make atonement for the sins of Israel.

It’s was a very long and drawn out process, but for good reason. The high priest had to be clean before God to enter before the mercy seat on the ark where God was said to dwell. Tradition has it that the high priest would wear a rope around his foot. If he was not clean before God, he would be struck down. And the other priests would have to pull him out, as they would not be able to physically enter the place and carry him out.

It was an extremely serious affair. And it’s such a contrast with the position we are in today. In the New Testament letters, there is much on our freedom to approach God with confidence. We are, by nature, just as sinful as the high priests during the time of Israel. The only difference is that we now have a high priest who has atoned for our sins once and for all. His name is Jesus. Hebrews 7 states that “unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”

It is through Jesus that we are righteous – without sin. It is by the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus that we have the confidence to freely approach the throne of God. And how significant that is!

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16

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#23: February 20, 2008

2008-02-20T21:13:00.002+08:00

I’m breaking from tradition to select certain verses from within the book of Leviticus. Today’s was from Leviticus 11.

* * *

For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Leviticus 11:45

Leviticus is a book of Law. Here God tells the Israelites what is permissible and what is not permissible. He distinguishes between the clean and the unclean. He sets forth a pattern of offerings. He ordains a series of festivals.

But then you get bits like the above, which cuts through the letter of the law towards the spirit of the law.

Why was God being so particular with His laws? The verse above is a perfect answer.

God had specifically chosen the Israelites to be His people, redeeming them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Because He had rescued them to be their God, it was only fitting that they should be holy, as a reflection of the holiness of God.

This line of reasoning may not seem to make much sense. I wrestled with it for a while. But I believe the key bit is to understand what it means to have someone or something as our ‘God’. When we have a God, we want to follow it, become like it, because we idolise it. We see it and utter, “Wow! I want to be just like that!” If something or someone is the god of our lives, we unconsciously express it.

And here the people were in awe of God. After all, just moments before, they had all fallen facedown in worship before the presence of God. And so God ordains that if they are going to worship Him as their God, then it is necessary for them to express Him properly. And God is holy. So His people must be holy. If they were not holy, they could not be His people. For God cannot tolerate sin. How then can He call a people His own if they are sinful?

There’s one more thing though that caught my attention. “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God.” God doesn’t appeal to His awesome power. God appeals to His awesome redemption. Because of His powerful redemption, the Israelites ought to be holy.

The Israelites should be responding out of gratefulness! That God has freed them from bondage. But that, as the course of history progresses, is far from what really happens. The Israelites are an ungrateful people. But then so are we. Mankind is rebellious by nature. We have hearts of stone that cannot appreciate the freedom God offers.

It’s in this context that what Jesus has done for us contrasts so vividly! Read 1 Peter 1. And see the difference. The call is there at the end, to be holy just as the One who called us is holy. And the reasons are the same, that we are a redeemed people. But there’s one crucial difference. The new birth that comes from God. We no longer have hearts of stone. Peter says that we should rejoice in what this new birth has brought us. And so we should! How then do we respond?

Be holy, because the One who has called us is holy.

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:14-16

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#22: February 19, 2008

2008-02-19T22:26:00.003+08:00

Well. It's been a long 12 days. In that period, the reading guide has moved on and is now midway between Leviticus. Leviticus is somewhat repetitive, but there are pretty eye opening bits in there. Today's is one such bit, and can be found in Leviticus 9.

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When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
Leviticus 9:23-24

I just want to draw attention to a particular bit. Namely when all the people saw the glory of God, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Not facedown in fear. But facedown in joy.

There's a need to visualise this scene somewhat. There's a need to comprehend the very nature of God's glory. The nature of it that brings joy. And the nature of it that causes us to fall facedown.

It's not hard to do that, being in the UK. There are times when it's freezing. Like yesterday morning. I think the temperature was -5 or something. It's actually been a very warm February, apparently the warmest ever, but yesterday was a bit freakish. And so everything was frosted. Including me. And when you're cold, it's horrible. If I had to decide between being cold, or being hot in Malaysia, I'll pick the latter any day.

But then the sun came out. And when you're standing in the sun, it's suddenly a lot warmer. The air around you might be rather cold, but you can feel the warmth of the sun. And it's a pretty joyful moment. The feeling of warmth.

That's an imperfect metaphor of God's glory. It's like the sun shining on you in the cold. Or in an equatorial sense, you could probably compare it to freezing in an air-conditioned room, before walking out into the hot outdoors. There's an inherent joyfulness to be found in it. In this biblical context, I believe it's a display of God's power that's the source of joy. It is also a display of God's approval for the sacrifice that is a source of joy.

Before I draw some parallels with today, there's one more aspect to look at. Why fall facedown? Matt Redman has a good phrase to encapture this: "When you face up to God's glory, you find yourself facedown in worship." It's a natural response. We become so captivated with the Almighty that to fall before him in total surrender seems the only appropriate response. And the Israelites saw the power of God and could only respond in facedown worship. It's like a sun so bright, you can't look at it, yet it doesn't matter, because you can feel it.

It's a powerful image, this display of joyful facedown worship. It means three things for us. First, God is so great that to face up to His glory causes us to fall facedown before Him. Second, experiencing the glory of God brings us joy. Third, if God is so great, then surely the joy we find in Him must be the greatest of all joys.

And if this is the greatest of all joys, then why do we not seek it wholeheartedly? There are many reasons for this, but they mainly result from the fact that we are never fully convinced of this reality. But I believe that while we can never remain fully convince of this reality in this life, being in Jesus, we are in a position today to experience such joy, in increasing measure.

Where do we start? Just as God revealed Himself through the sacrifices of the Israelites, we can do likewise today. Not slaughter a ram or goat, but as Paul advises us in Romans, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - because this is our spiritual act of worship.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2

* * *

What has happened?

2008-02-18T00:57:00.002+08:00

Yes. There clearly seems to be a failure going on here.

Instead of progressing, it's regressing. So here's what I have been up to this week:

Work.

House. Best TV series in the world. Well, in my world at least.

A movie or two.

Shocking really. And for some reason I've been extremely tired the whole week. Meaning I haven't been able to get myself out of bed until half an hour before lectures. Not sure whether there's a correlation to the work.

Anyways, this column will resume normal service very soon. I'm thinking Tuesday. Or possibly Monday. But Tuesday sounds like a more reasonable target.

Hiatus

2008-02-08T22:11:00.001+08:00

I will be gone for the weekend, without my laptop. And I had no time to post today after a late night of work. So this will resume Monday. Or Sunday. Depending on how my schedule works out.

#21: February 7, 2008

2008-02-07T17:52:00.000+08:00

It’s getting rather tough. I’m now approaching the section of the Bible with all the descriptive imagery of building the tabernacle and its furnishings. And yes I almost thought, this looks so dull and uninspiring in terms of insight, until... Anyways today’s reading was taken from Exodus 25-27.

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You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.
Exodus 27:20-21

First, I must marvel at the precision with which God gave instructions. It really does show that our God is a God of order, that our science and technology today are reflections of this particular nature of God. But this pattern does repeat itself constantly across the next few chapters. And as much as I enjoy seeing God as a God of order and creative design, I would love to be able to write something different in this space every day.

Then I came across this verse above. Why keep a lamp burning?

I believe it’s a symbolic reminder of the presence of God in the lives of the Israelites.

Similarly today, we have our own lamp. And I believe we are commanded to keep it burning. Not with olive oil, but with the Word of God and with prayer. And we are to let it burn bright through our good deeds. Jesus called us to be the light of the world, to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.

And it’s particularly important that it continues burning. Because it is a reminder of what Jesus has done for us, redeeming us for good works. In Revelation, Jesus warns the church at Ephesus with this sort of symbolism, to repent and return to their first love, or have their lampstand remove from its place. That is indeed a serious situation to be in. If our lampstand is removed, we are no longer light, but are in the darkness. And those in the darkness will perish.

It is particularly serious that we let our light shine before men. There’s no such thing as a decorative lampstand. But here’s the upside. We would be foolish not to do so. Jesus promises, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven
Matthew 5:14-16

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#20: February 6, 2008

2008-02-06T23:36:00.000+08:00

Today's reading was from Exodus 22-24.I must admit that I have a penchant for picking bizarre looking verses. But in part they’re the bits that catch my attention, and they are in the Bible for a reason. Today’s post is probably the longest yet, but I got carried away :)

* * *

And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words."
Exodus 24:8

This sounds extremely, well, bloody. It does comes across as rather unpleasant, the sprinkling of blood on people.

Just to put the verse into context, the people are at Mt. Sinai. God had given His people some laws to follow, and the people had agreed to follow them: “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” Then Moses writes down all the words of the LORD, I’m assuming into what is then referred to as the Book of the Covenant. There are sacrifices of oxen, half the blood is taken and placed in basins, and the other half Moses throws against the altar. He reads from the Book of the Covenant, and the people reply, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses takes the blood and throws it on the people, thus the verse above.

So note here. We have half the blood thrown against the altar. The Book of the Covenant is read. The people commit to following it. And the other half of the blood is thrown on them.

It’s a very important order to keep straight in our heads. A covenant was being made here. And the covenant was sealed by blood. A half was thrown on the altar to represent God’s commitment, and the other half was thrown on the people to represent the people’s commitment.

But blood...why blood? There was something symbolically important about blood. Blood was said to contain the life force of the person. The word bloodshed, doesn’t mean a cut and a bit of bleeding; it means a killing has taken place. A blood covenant was a covenant of the very highest order. If it was broken, then the fate of the guilty party would be the same as the animal offering - bloodshed.

What a predicament the Israelites found themselves in! They broke the covenant countless times and yet they were spared that horrible fate. And how foolish the Pharisees were in Jesus’ time. His coming had been foretold from this moment on. That God’s people had survived despite their unfaithfulness was owing to God’s amazing plan to be carried out through Jesus. Instead the Pharisees took their ‘righteousness’ for granted, not realising they had a blood penalty to be paid.

How blessed we are today! That blood penalty has been paid, for those God has chosen to redeem. During the Last Supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” In Matthew, He says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” But can you imagine how terrible it was at the very moment of Jesus’ death? Can you imagine the size of the penalty that had to be paid?

We can easily let Jesus’ crucifixion slip into the back of our minds, but something immense was happening at that very moment. And it’s something we should never forget. Blood was spilled. And a covenant was made.

And no the story doesn’t end there. It can’t. Jesus had to rise from the dead for the covenant to be everlasting. And so He did.

The gospel’s amazing, isn’t it?

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18

* * *

#19: February 5, 2008

2008-02-05T16:37:00.000+08:00

Today's reading was from Exodus 19-21. Yep. The section with the Ten Commandments in it.

* * *

“I the LORD your God am a jealous God.”

How is God jealous?

Being described as jealous doesn’t really sound like a compliment. Just checking an online dictionary confirms this intuition – God is described as "intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity". This is somewhat true given God’s intolerance of sin. But I believe there’s a more complete definition – “vigilant in guarding something”.

God explains Himself here. “...am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” By definition, this is what God’s jealousy does – He visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and He shows steadfast love to those who love Him.

God is guarding His possession. He’s going to punish those who fall out of line. That’s how serious He is about guarding His possession. But He’s also going to reward those who remain His possession. That’s how much He loves His possession. He’s not willing that they make gods of other things, because He knows How much more precious He is. God is not only guarding His possession, He’s first and foremost guarding His name and the glory of it.

He’s showing the Israelites how infinitely valuable He is - “I am jealous, I do not want you worshipping other gods. Because I KNOW that I’m the only one worthy of your worship. I am the Creator, not the created.” (not quoted from the Bible)

If we could begin to wrap our minds around the notion of God’s glory, grasp the value of His name, and realise how valuable we are in His sight, created in the image of God, we would be proud to have a jealous God. We would be thankful that He constantly upholds the value of His name. Not that it will become any less valuable if He did not do so, but that in doing so He places prime value on His name above everything else. We would be thankful that He constantly guards His possession, we who are redeemed, not willing to let anyone fall, helping us persevere till the day of our death.

* * *

#18: February 4, 2008

2008-02-04T18:35:00.000+08:00

Today's reading was from Exodus 16-18.
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The Israelites just don’t get satisfied do they? First they complain about water, then they complain about food, then they complain about water and so on so forth...

But what’s interesting today was the little account of the battle with Amalek. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. And so Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses to hold up his hands, and they were steady, and Israel prevailed.

I find that a very fitting metaphor of the church. We need support. There’s no such thing as a lone wolf Christian. It’s an oxymoron. We all need our Aarons and Hurs, to support us when we grow weary. So I’m rather thankful that God has instituted the church for such a purpose, and that he has given me fellow Christians around me to ‘hold up my hands’.

#17: February 3, 2008

2008-02-04T00:27:00.000+08:00

Today's reading was Exodus 13-15.
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Humans are rather forgetful creatures. As I read the book of Exodus, and see all the miracles God performs before Israel, and the awe-inspiring image of the Red Sea parting to let them through, I laugh when the Israelites rejoice for a while, then begin grumbling after 3 days without water. And when they get water, they complain that it is bitter.

The Israelites are a complaining people. But we are not so different today. We complain a lot as well. It is no wonder that Paul preaches to us to be content with what we have, to do everything without complaining or arguing, as to stand out from the world.

Sometimes I’d think that I would never complain about God not doing anything if I had seen something as miraculous as the Red Sea parting. But as I dwell on that thought further, I realise that the biggest miracle of all is that which is supernatural. The Red Sea was parted by a strong east wind sent by God. But there is no natural precedent for resurrecting the dead to life. That is truly the miracle, because only God can do that. And I am part of that miracle, for I was once dead, but now I am alive. As long as I remember this, it is proof enough that I have no reason to complain, that I have no reason to doubt that God is at work in this life.

But coming back full circle, humans after all ARE rather forgetful creatures. In light of this, I believe it is important to make every effort to remind ourselves of what God has done for us, of which first and foremost is the miracle of salvation – that He took this dead man and raised me to life.

#16: February 2, 2008

2008-02-02T19:13:00.000+08:00

Today's reading was Exodus 10-12.
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I find it extremely intriguing that it was called the Passover. My initial thought has always been along the lines of the fact that God passed over the houses with the blood of the lamb painted on their door posts, and therefore that is the reason why it’s called the Passover.

But it was also a foretelling of God’s future plans. Romans 3:25 uses the term again.

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

In His divine forebearance, God had passed over former sins. The Israelite firstborns were technically no different from the Egyptian firstborns. All had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God could have wiped them out as well. But God spared the Israelite firstborns because of the blood of the lamb, which looked forward to the time when the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, would eventually be the propitiation for our sin. Jesus is not only our Saviour today, but He was already the Saviour of the Israelites back in Moses’ time. God had only passed over them, and all the sacrifices from here onwards looked to the day when Jesus would eventually pay the penalty once and for all.

Is it relevant today? Yes. God is righteous and just and will punish all sin. But we are spared. And this is not because we have simply been passed over, but in fact because His wrath against us has been spent in Jesus. While the Israelites in the time of Moses could only marvel at the mercy of God in passing over their sin, we are so much more privileged today to stand in the grace of God, knowing that we have not been passed over, but have been redeemed.

#15: February 1, 2008

2008-02-01T23:18:00.001+08:00

Centuries of theological debate have centred on the themes of predestination and free will. And I know my views are not even going to leave a dent on the wealth of arguments by brilliant theologians and philosophers.

But as vast and controversial as the debate is, it’s still important for me to know. Do we really have a choice in the end? It is this that presses in from today’s reading from Exodus 7-9.
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If God can harden hearts, then does free will really exist?

The phrase ‘free will’ is rather interesting. Experientially as humans, we do regard ourselves as having free will, the ability to make choices. We know whether we choose to accept or reject Jesus. But our wills aren’t really free. They’re enslaved to sin. ‘Free will’ doesn’t really exist because we always choose to reject God.

If someone has a choice, it is God.

It is God then who chooses to be gracious to whom He will be gracious, and to show mercy on whom he will show mercy, as He tells Moses in Exodus 33. To those He has chosen He lets light shine out of the darkness of their hearts and opens their eyes and ears, creating the miracle of new birth. There is an irresistible calling, because once we have seen the light of Jesus, we no longer want to return to the darkness of this world. For the first time in our lives, we actually have ‘free will’, because we suddenly have another choice before us. A choice of redemption. And we always choose the better choice.

There is no boast for the chosen, except in Jesus Christ alone. Instead, a profound sense of humility in the face of God’s sovereignty in redemption displaces the pride that we once took in our efforts. And there dawns a sense of unlimited joy because of the life we have found. But no, it doesn’t stop there. No Christian can truly enjoy being in the light while others still suffer in the darkness. That is our call. Just like Moses did the speaking, and God performed the miracles, so likewise today, all we have to do is tell others the good news of Jesus, and let God do the miracle of new birth. We do the work, He delivers the results.

Passion: God of this City - My two cents

2008-02-01T06:34:00.000+08:00

Well. I figured since I was going to be no.7 on Google search, I might as well give more than a one-word review, as accurate as it was.

1. Let God Arise - Chris Tomlin
I have no clue which gathering this is taken from, but I have a gut feeling it was the closing song of Passion 07 at Atlanta, because it sounds a lot like it. I might be wrong. Either way, it's a pretty awesome opener to the album, and it has really given me second thoughts about this song, which did not stand out straight away on Tomlin's See the Morning album.

2. You are God - Charlie Hall
I'm assuming this song was recorded from Atlanta as well and was the one available on iTunes. Again I might be wrong. But if it is, they've cut the song and left out the part where Charlie starts talking quite a bit. Regardless, it's a good song - classic Charlie Hall.

3. God of this City - Chris Tomlin
This is an amazing song. There are songs that come every so often and grab your attention. This is one of them. The title song is really what makes Passion, well, Passion. Powerful crowd moments in this one. And it embodies the vision of Passion itself, that greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in cities around the world. Simply inspiring.

4. O For a Thousand Tongues to - David Crowder Band
This song has stayed in the uppermost recesses of my mind ever since those 4 days in Atlanta. One reason mainly because it was a new tune from my favourite band. But because there was something powerful about this song that just stayed with me. I eagerly wanted to hear a copy of the song, so I searched the web, but sadly no one had recorded it. Then when Remedy was announced, I was eager as a beaver. When the song came out, it did sound slightly different. And now I realise that my suspicions were right about the speed of the live version. As Everything Glorious was slower live, this song was faster live. Regardless, it's a good song, made awesome by that one memory and the long wait :)

5. Hosanna - Christy Nockels
Impressive. Tomlin has increasingly used Hillsong United music in his worship sets. This one's taken off one of the regionals, (after all the song came out after Atlanta) but it captures all the hook and verve of the original version, which happened to be the only song I truly enjoyed on the United CD - won't go any further on this since our likes and dislikes are all rather relative anyways.

6. Sing Sing Sing - Chris Tomlin
People feared another Party. In defense of Party, I understand that songs that were powerful live might not sound as good to outsiders who weren't part of the experience. But still... Anyways, no need to fear, because this song is just pure energy, Tomlin style.

7. Beautiful Jesus - Kristian Stanfill
Refreshing change from the usual Passion artists. It's a simple but beautifully crafted (no pun with the title intended) song that sticks in your head and has you humming along unconsciously at times.

8. Walk the World - Charlie Hall
Another song that stuck with me at Atlanta. Not sure where this recording was from though. But this song is musically amazing and the chorus is plain catchy. And for me it embodied the message of Passion 07 as well, to shine.

9. We Shine - Steve Fee
Monster. Because I've run out of superlatives. But this was a monster recording. Transports you back to the moment of the song.

10. God of our Yesterdays - Matt Redman
New Redman song. Was looking forward to hear it when news of this album came out. After the previous monster of a song, this song opens on a rather soft note, with the keys playing. And this is a song with a message very much in the vein of Redman's Blessed be Your Name and You Never Let Go, married to a tune that well, you can only describe as befitting it.

11. Glory of It All - David Crowder Band
The most powerful moment of Passion 07 for me, which left me in a profound state of mind after the tears of the previous songs. Granted I do believe the recording's taken from the Philips Arena, whereas I experienced this song at the GWCC. But it is the same song, and it's probably my favourite song at this point in time, because it's a simple reminder of what this life is really all about. Simple lyrics, Crowder music, divinely inspired experience - what more do I have to say?

12. Shine - Matt Redman
This was also one of those powerful moments of worship at Passion 07. And the poetry in this song is actually fantastic. It was one of those songs that would just stick in your head afterwards. Can a songwriter ask for anything else?

13. Dancing Generation - Matt Redman
This song feels a bit strange. The crowd sounded slightly half hearted at the start and in places. If this was Atlanta, maybe because it was only day two, and the first song of the morning session? Either way, it's probably the least favourite song of the whole album for me. But maybe that's just because the others were amazing (no pun intended regarding the title of the next song either) *EDIT*Well with a couple more listens, this song does begin to grow on you...*EDIT*

14. Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) - Chris Tomlin
This is the one that was available on iTunes as well. It's a good song. It was a worshipful moment. But hearing it on the album, it does feel a bit long. My favourite version of Amazing Grace is still the Crowder one that's circulating on YouTube.
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Well that's my song-by-song two cents. But there's a saying: the sum of the whole is greater than its parts. And this is certainly the case for Passion: God of This City. It is an awesome album, with awesome moments, but more importantly it has a message for us to go and do something awesome, because our God is awesome. There are a collection of inspiring worship numbers that might become rather popular with the global church. And it's certainly my favourite of the series so far, after the 2005 album, because there's just something powerfully inspiring about it that I can't place my finger on...God maybe?

#14: January 31, 2008

2008-01-31T19:28:00.000+08:00

I deviated to post a review on the latest Passion album. Yes, it is a one word review, because it simply is awesome. Incidentally, I'm also 7th on the Google search results if you type "Passion God of this City". Haha. Anyways today's Bible reading was from Exodus 4-6.
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Do we ever doubt the power of God?

When things don’t seem to be working out, or our circumstances are getting worse and our efforts seem futile, we doubt God is at work. We feel so easily discouraged and burnt out, coming up with excuses to get away from the ‘Christian life’ for a while.

Here in Exodus, Moses was in a similar situation. God had commanded him to lead Israel out of Egypt, but Pharaoh instead doubled the burden of the Israelites, which broke their spirits. God then tells Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let his people go. But Moses then expresses his doubts over his ability to carry it out – pointing out that even his own people would not listen to him. And at this point, God must be feeling rather bemused and angry. After all His promises to Moses to work through him and the displays of His power to Moses, why is Moses now saying that his words are going to be useless? It’s not Moses words that will matter, but it will be God’s outstretched arm that will bring Israel out of Egypt. Thus we see God dismiss Moses’ excuse and charge him to carry out the task.

I believe that today a lot of discouragement and burnout can stem from the fact that we forget who is really at work. Sure, we might be the one labouring, but our labours are in vain if God is not present, for it is by God’s outstretched arm that all His works will be done. God is saying do the work. It doesn’t really matter whether you think you can get results or not. If you have the ability to say a few simple words, then say the few simple words. If you have the ability to carry out a few simple tasks, then carry them out. I’ll deliver the results.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

Passion: God of this City - Album Review

2008-01-31T08:14:00.000+08:00

Awesome.

#13: January 30, 2008

2008-01-30T20:28:00.000+08:00

Today was the start of Exodus. Exodus begins with the oppression of the Israelites, who have become fruitful in the land of Egypt, and are greatly feared by the Egyptians. Into these circumstances does the story of Moses begin. Today's reading was from Exodus 1-3.
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Why a ‘burning bush’?

Well, it sure attracted Moses’ attention. “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” The bush is described as burning, but not consumed.

But why not a speaking animal? Or a dream? Or writing on the wall? Or a storm cloud? Why a burning bush?

God does not play dice. I don’t think He puts His hand into a bag and pulls out a piece of paper that says “burning bush”. He had a purpose for speaking to Moses through a burning bush. If it was to attract Moses’ attention, I’m pretty certain a speaking animal, dreams, writing appearing on a wall, or a storm cloud would be equally attention grabbing.

So if it’s not to get Moses’ attention, it’s to show something about God. And here’s what I think the symbolism is.

God is like a fire. Hebrews describes Him as a ‘consuming fire’. Yet the bush was clearly not consumed. BUT the place was refined. God called it holy and instructed Moses to take off his sandals. God is a fire. He refines those He has called, who He then justifies, who He then glorifies. We are like metal with impurities. We go into God’s fire and He refines us, only leaving pure metal behind. But to those who have not been called and justified, He does not glorify by refining. He consumes.

It’s quite harsh imagery in a way. The image of God as fire is used several times throughout the Bible. And I think I’ll point it out along the way. But for today, I want to raise something. If we are sons of God, and the Spirit of God is in us, it is a flame that is in us. But how hot is that flame in us? How bright is that flame in the lives of others? Sometimes we cover it with a lampshade. But I believe there’s a need to let it burn bright. To show that God is here with us. And that we are not consumed. Then maybe people will turn aside to see this great sight, and question like Moses: why we are not burned?

#12: January 29, 2008

2008-01-30T00:17:00.001+08:00

Well. Genesis is finished. Today's reading came from Chapters 48-50. Exodus is up next in the chronology, but that's tomorrow.
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“Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?”

That’s a beautiful statement of love. Joseph’s brothers feared revenge from their younger sibling for all the evil they had caused him in his youth. They came and begged forgiveness for the transgressions they had committed against Joseph. But Joseph replied with an amazing question, “Am I in the place of God?”

It is God’s place to judge evil in this world, not us. Joseph’s recognised this. Furthermore, his response was the complete opposite – he comforted his brothers and assured them that he would continue to provide for them and their families. This act of love seems impossible. But then we turn our attention to what Joseph says in between. He appeals to the sovereign grace of God in assuring his brothers – “do not fear”. Joseph acknowledged that all that had taken place had been ordained by God, that in His grace, God had paved the way forward for His people and used evil for good. The grace of God was sufficient for Joseph’s sense of justice, freeing him to love unconditionally.

The parallels with our world today are striking. There are some truths that are just timeless. When confronted with evil, we should not judge, we should not take revenge, but we should love. “Love your enemies” was one of Jesus’ commands. It’s impossible to do this, aside from the grace of God. As Joseph appealed to it, so we appeal to it today. The grace of God is sufficient to satisfy our needs, and the wrath of God will satisfy the need for judgment.

What is more beautiful today than in the time of Joseph is that both the grace of God and the wrath of God have met in a single place, on the cross of Jesus Christ, where the wrath of God was spent, and the grace of God became available to us.

#11: January 28, 2008

2008-01-28T18:40:00.000+08:00

Today's reading was from Genesis 46-47. I struggled to frame my thoughts for this post, wrestling with the language and the parallels in the story. So I have a niggling feeling that there might be inaccuracies, which I can't quite pick out at the moment.
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It’s worth sitting up and taking note when God names Himself. In Genesis 46:3, God appears to Jacob in a ‘vision of the night’, and says, “I am God, the God of your father.”

Why does God introduce Himself as the God of Isaac?

Well, in fact, God also introduces Himself to Isaac as the God of Abraham, Isaac’s father. And it was with Abraham that God established His covenant (promise – binding in God’s case), to make him the father of a multitude of nations. That he would be God to his offspring just as He was God to Abraham. And it is by this that Isaac and Jacob know who God really is. The knowledge of God was woven into their family history. Therefore when God appeared to Jacob, and Isaac before him, He would identify Himself as God of their father, and they would instantly understand who He was. And furthermore, they would look at the covenant God had established with Abraham and marvel at God’s faithfulness to His people.

Today, if God was to name Himself before His followers in Jesus, He would no longer need to say “I am the God of your father.” He would say “I am your father.” This is the new covenant, bought with the blood of Jesus, shed for the propitiation of our sin. As Romans phrases it, “we have received the Spirit of sonship”, and we are “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”. It is an eternal covenant, that despite the many generations of Christians that have lived and died, we are all still considered children of God - we’re not grandsons or granddaughters, inheriting our faith from our parents, but we inherit our faith from God Himself. God establishes this covenant with each one of us through Jesus Christ, if we are faithful to keep it.

If Isaac, Jacob, and all who followed them took pride in their identity as sons of Abraham, inheriting the covenant of their forefather, how much more pride should we take in being sons of God, inheriting the covenant from God himself - the promise that He will be our God?

#10: January 27, 2008

2008-01-27T19:07:00.000+08:00

Well. Resolution #7 is going good. Today's reading was from Genesis 43-45.

God moves in mysterious ways. Who could have foretold the entire story of Joseph, from the day he was taken away, to the day he was reunited with his brothers? And that Joseph would become Lord of all Egypt? That the entire saga was all part of God’s plan to preserve and prosper his chosen people?

But I think what was even more amazing was that Joseph recognised the hand of God in his life. That despite how things turned out, for better or worse, he knew the hand of God was orchestrating his life, from beginning to end. He testified to it before Pharaoh. He testified to it before his household. He testified to it before his brothers.

Sometimes I wonder if we can say the same thing ourselves. Do we really recognise the sovereignty of God over every aspect of our lives? That He is a God in control? That everything that happens does not happen without His permission? Nothing in history has been a mistake. God does not make mistakes. And thus we are not a mistake. We are in this time and place for a purpose. God has chosen to impart to us a saving knowledge of Jesus – although whether we trust in that is another matter – for a purpose. The purpose comes from the fact that there are many who are not as privileged to know who Jesus really is. Our purpose is thus rather simple: to testify about Jesus before everyone.

Yet as simple as it is, the question I then find myself facing is whether I have the boldness of Joseph to trust in God for everything. Do I really recognise the sovereignty of God over every aspect of my life? For it is from the assurance of God’s sovereignty that courage spills forth. The courage to stand and testify to the grace of God before those who have not heard. And in all honesty, as much as I strive to, there are strongholds in my life where I have not allowed God to break in. And it is with utmost sincerity that I pray for His power to tear down those walls.

#9: January 26, 2008

2008-01-26T21:01:00.000+08:00

Reading today was from Genesis 41-42.

Joseph’s story would be on the front cover of every publication if it took place today. He was sold by his brothers to Ishmaelite traders at the age of 17. He was bought by an Egyptian, Potiphar, and quickly rose to prominence in his household, before being thrown in prison despite his innocence. In prison, he again quickly rose to prominence and was placed in charge of the other prisoners by the jailer. Here he met Pharaoh’s chief baker and cupbearer who had been jailed for offences. They each had a dream, both of which Joseph rightly interpreted. And Joseph had asked the cupbearer to remember him when he was restored. But the cupbearer forgot. And so Joseph was left to languish in prison for a couple more years.

Then at the age of 30, (Was it coincidence that Jesus also started His ministry at the age of 30, or that David became King of Israel when he was 30? Curious fact, isn’t it?) Pharaoh had a dream which no one could interpret, and upon the cupbearer’s testimony, Joseph was summoned. Now this is just something that you have to picture in your mind. He was a prisoner when he entered Pharaoh’s court. When he departed, he was Lord of Egypt, second-in-command only with respect to the throne.

It’s an amazing testament to God’s power that Joseph’s fortunes were reversed in the blink of an eye. And it’s not without its parallels today. Through the simple act of trusting Jesus for His propitiation of our sin, and His righteousness imputed to us when we place Him as Lord of our lives, our fortunes are reversed in an instant. We are turned from hell to heaven in a blink of an eye. That is a testament to God’s amazing grace. Like Joseph, if we place our trust in God, we will get the best of this life and the next. It’s that simple, so simple that it become a stumbling block to some. But grace is uncomplicated on our part - it’s something we just need to accept. And that’s reason enough to rejoice.

#8: January 25, 2008

2008-01-26T00:30:00.000+08:00

Ah. Today's post is a bit late. That's because I had a busy morning. But here it is. Reading taken from Genesis 38-40.
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Joseph’s such an interesting character, really. Again I feel so spoiled for choice when reading these 3 chapters. But there’s always next year!

So I’ll buck the trend. Today’s insight does not concern Joseph. Chapter 39 is an interesting tale of Joseph’s righteousness before God, and so is Chapter 40, and they’re also amazing testaments to God’s faithfulness and sovereignty, but Chapter 38 is the focus of this insight.

You might wonder why there’s a sudden pause in the story of Joseph, as the focus shifts to Judah. Well, simply because Jesus is descended from the lineage of Judah. (That’s why He’s called the Lion of Judah. And logically David and Solomon as well are descended from Judah – but Jesus is the important descendant.) And the genealogy (family tree) is actually pretty messed up. Jump forward to Matthew and we can trace the genealogy of Jesus from this point:

...Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron...
And so on so forth. If you read the story, Tamar was actually the wife of Judah’s first son, but he was wicked in God’s sight and was struck down. The second son was asked to help bear offspring for his brother, but he intentionally avoided his responsibilities and God saw this as wicked and he was struck down too. Then Judah asked Tamar to stay as a widow in his house until his third son was old enough to fulfill that responsibility of fathering her children. But when his third son was old enough, Judah didn't stick to his promise, and so Tamar resorted to a bit of deception, and to cut a long story short, tricked Judah into sleeping with her, and gave birth to the twins Perez and Zerah.

Sounds like such a soap opera. But the fact was Judah slept with his daughter-in-law, and Jesus descended from the firstborn Perez. And that’s the beauty of it. It was not Jesus’ human lineage that made Him righteous, the perfect propitiation (payment by blood) for our sin, but it was His divine identity. And because we’re humans, as Romans phrases it - descendants of Adam, we are sinful by nature and cannot be righteous by our own effort. The only hope for righteousness comes from God, through Jesus Christ. That’s something to be thankful for, because if we were not righteous before God, our ultimate destination is hell.

But God so loved the world that He sent His one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life. And if we believe in Jesus, we will follow Jesus. Not just pay Him lip service, but walk His ways, obey His truths and live His life, in obedience to God.

#7: January 24, 2008

2008-01-24T18:07:00.000+08:00

Today's reading was Genesis 35-37.

Joseph is introduced in the last chapters of Genesis. Joseph’s story is intriguing. There’s so much to take out of it.

In Genesis 37, we may judge Joseph’s brothers harshly for selling him into captivity, and lying to Jacob that he had been taken by wild animals. Perhaps we may grant Reuben a reprieve for seeking to spare Joseph’s life, but whether we interpret his motivations as that of gaining favour from his father is another issue. We may grant Judah a partial pardon, for acknowledging that Joseph is his brother, and his refrain from killing him. But what about Joseph?

Joseph was proud. I think it’s obvious that Joseph understood his dreams. His brothers clearly did, and hated him for flaunting his position over them. It clearly wasn’t helped either by him being Jacob’s favourite child, a testament of his multi-coloured robe. (Benjamin had not been born and Rachel was still alive at this point I believe.)

But just because Joseph would be superior over the lives of his family did not mean that he had to flaunt it. It was true but it was disrespectful. The best evidence of this was Jacob’s reaction. He was clearly outraged at Joseph’s lack of respect, but he kept Joseph’s words in his mind.

We could speculate. Perhaps this whole story wouldn’t have taken place if Joseph had not been as proud. God would surely have had His ways of getting Joseph to Egypt. But of course, as is the pattern we’ve constantly observed, God uses human folly for His good purposes.

It’s the same today. Especially for young people. We think we’re better than others in some way, are more talented in some skill, and seek to flaunt it, to show off. It’s sheer pride. What’s worse is that sometimes we think we’re better just because God gives us a special gift, or we seem to have a special position in church, or something along those lines. It’s not the mark of a true Christian. And it clearly has its consequences. Joseph’s brothers’ reactions were not irrational or even unexpected. And if people were to react in the same way today, I would not be the least bit surprised.

So let’s be humble people, no matter how skilful, or talented, or smart, or privileged, or ‘high-up’ we are.

#6: January 23, 2008

2008-01-23T17:30:00.000+08:00

Insight from today's reading Genesis 32-34 though it's the final bit of Genesis 32 that's relevant.

This thought has taken quite a while to develop. You could say I’ve spent the morning wrestling with it.

Jacob wrestled with God. That’s pretty amazing. Did Jacob really wrestle God? Or was it someone else? An angel? Is it a spiritual metaphor? Clearly Jacob knew the man was someone significant to have wrestled with him so intensely. But at the end the man clearly blesses Jacob and renames him, and Jacob himself says that he has seen God face to face yet lives. Thus the fundamental truth here is that Jacob wrestled with God.

What does it mean to wrestle with God though? How do you wrestle with God? It’s like asking a baby to wrestle with the Rock or something. It’s kind of a no-brainer who wins. And we look at this wrestling duel, and in fact there’s no victor, until God chooses to push Jacob’s hip out of joint, so he is unable to continue. But Jacob refuses to let go. He’s not going to win, but he will not lose it. He clearly wants a blessing.

It’s not the first time this happens though. Jacob has been wrestling all his life. He wrestled with Esau in his mother’s womb for the privilege of firstborn, and loses it barely but comes out clutching Esau’s heel. He wrestles with Esau his entire childhood for the privilege of his birthright, then for the blessing of Isaac. He wrestles with Laban for his wages.

But this is no ordinary wrestling match. It is in fact a turning point in Jacob’s life. Jacob’s name means ‘he cheats’. I don’t think you would quite fancy a name like that. It is here that God chooses to humble Jacob. All this while, Jacob has always managed to wrestle his victory. But finally he’s up against the ropes, he’s fearful of meeting his brother, and there seems to him that he has little chance of winning this encounter. It is with this desperation that Jacob wrestles this unknown man, and failing to win, clings on to him. God teaches Jacob to cling on to him. And then seeing that Jacob will not let go, it is clear that he has learnt his lesson, and he renames him Israel, which means ‘he strives with God’. And when He departs, Jacob suddenly realises what has just happened and how blessed he truly is.

Is that like us in any way? We wrestle through this life, trying to carve out our niche somewhere. Then suddenly the tables are turned and there seems to be no escape, and in desperation we turn to God and wrestle with Him, seeking His blessing. But there’s no way we can win that fight. Yet the amazing thing is that while we can’t win it, we can choose to not lose it. And in choosing to not lose, we inadvertently cling on to Him, and it is that very act of humility that ensures our victory.

Isn’t it funny how God works?

#5: January 22, 2008

2008-01-22T17:03:00.000+08:00

Insight comes from Genesis 30-31.

The tables are turned on Jacob.

He cheated Esau out of his birthright and blessing. He then had to flee to the household of Laban to escape the wrath of his brother. Here he was cheated by Laban. He was forced to work an extra 7 years to earn the daughter he loved, and in these two chapters, Laban attempted to cheat him out of his wages.

It seems that there’s just a lot of deception going on here.

Yet God was faithful to Jacob and blessed him despite Laban’s tricks. And this is something that we should remember today. Sometimes everything seems so unjust when others get away with their deceitful scheming. Even worse, sometimes we get tempted to resort to our own deceitful scheming to get our bit back. Jacob did not do so though. He followed God’s advice and was duly rewarded.

In a way, this has parallels with the previous story. There Rebekah chose to cheat and God’s plan was fulfilled, but Rebekah was left facing the consequences. Here Jacob chose not to cheat and God’s plan was equally fulfilled, but Jacob left a blessed man. Well in truth he fled. But God protected him from Laban.

It may not be deceitful scheming. It might involve telling a half-truth. Either way, let your conscience judge what deceit is. But if there’s one thing we learn, trusting in God’s faithfulness and persisting in His good and just ways is the surest route to take.

#4: January 21, 2008

2008-01-21T17:33:00.000+08:00

Insight of the day from Genesis 27-29.

I’ve always wondered about this. What would God have done if Rebekah had not chosen to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob?

Yet in the end, God’s fulfils His promise. It’s strange. I can’t help but feel outraged at the manner in which God’s promise was eventually fulfilled. If God is good, why does He choose to act through this act of sin?

I believe this a beautiful juxtaposition of human free will and divine sovereignty. It’s one way in which this seeming contradiction – that if God is sovereign, then do humans really have free will – is answered. Rebekah had a choice. She chose to trust in her own effort and was left to face the consequences – separation from the son she loved, fear over the lives of both Esau and Jacob, and the knowledge that she was responsible for the enmity between Jacob and Esau. Yet God in His sovereignty foreknew Rebekah’s choice and chose to use an act of sin for His good purposes. If Rachel had chosen to trust in God to fulfil His promise, perhaps things would have turned out differently. Yet either way, God is sovereign, and we are still free to choose.

The key is whether we choose to trust in God, or trust in ourselves. Our tendency is to go for the latter, but if we trust in God, He has promised to work all things for our good. Surely that is the better choice.

#3: January 20, 2008

2008-01-20T17:53:00.000+08:00

Alright, it's time to get real with resolution #7.

Insight of the day comes from today's reading Genesis 25-26.

Why was Jacob picked over Esau? Esau was a rebel. He married two Hittites against the will of his parents. He sold his birthright over a meal. He always looked for instant gratification. And so we are like that sometimes. We think that we aren’t like Esau, not as foolish, not as rebellious, but the fact is that we have given up our birthright in heaven too for instant gratification, the pleasures of this world, to get entangled in this life of sin. But Jacob wasn't any better, was he? If you think about it, and read further, he didn't deserve this birthright - he had won it through his cunning efforts. And sometimes we try to do that - we try to earn our birthright by our own effort and devious ways. But this doesn’t work. We don't deserve it and we can never earn it.

Righteousness comes from God alone, through faith, in Jesus Christ, whose death paid for our punishment, whose obedience is our righteousness. It is the only way we can become children of God, by His grace and mercy.

That's pretty amazing stuff.

#2: January 7, 2008

2008-01-07T22:58:00.000+08:00

The 7 should read 2, or the 2 should read 7. Nonetheless, I really should be keeping this up.

But it's 2008, and I figured 8 resolutions for the year ought to be a nice number.

#1: Get a first in my exams. Or well, really just do the best I can.
#2: Figure out something for my summer internship - this looks like more of a half-year resolution.
#3: Finish my chronological Bible reading plan
#4: Spend more time in prayer
#5: Make time to talk to more friends
#6: Forge better relationships with certain individuals, who will not be named here
#7: Update this blog regularly
#8: *private resolution*

Lol. The last one will be kept a secret.

Anyways, like I promised, insight #2:

It would be a bit long to quote the whole bit. But I'm currently reading through Job, and today's chapters are 14-16. The insight today however comes from a bigger overview of the situation in Job. And perhaps there is a key passage here, taken from Job 2:9-10.

[Job's] wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

The question to contemplate is: Is God responsible for evil?

This question cannot be appropriately addressed in such a short space. But I think that justice, however small, must be done. Firstly, the definition of responsibility is crucial. God is not the origin of evil, He is not the author of evil, but He permits it. For His own purposes God permits evil. Yet God's very nature is goodness, and in Him there is no evil. This is right doctrine, for it is said that Job did not sin when he said that trouble also comes from God. So it seems that we arrive at a contradiction, at yet another question. How can a good God allow evil?

In the book of Job, God chooses to answer this question in pretty spectacular fashion, by revealing Himself. And today, it's even more spectacular when you realise that God has revealed Himself ultimately in the person of Jesus. The answer to how a good God can allow evil is Jesus. Strange answer you might think. In fact the question doesn't even seem to be answered. To answer that question will require much review of many different theological arguments. But stop a moment and think about it: when people are faced by evil, as much as they want to know why it is happening, I believe they want a solution even more. And so Jesus is that solution. He is coming to set things right, while we just hold on a little longer.

The narrow road or #1: January 1, 2008

2008-01-01T21:08:00.000+08:00

I have finally decided to end my blogging hiatus and start anew. It's the dawn of a new year, and it's the perfect time for a fresh start, beginning with the title.

So here I am again explaining why the change of title. Well, life's a journey. And we all choose different roads. Jesus tells us to "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14). I consider myself to have chosen the narrow road. But it's difficult to stay on it, and it's in fact impossible aside from the power of God, who is able to keep us from falling.

And I thought that it is only right for my blog to reflect that sort of life. I mean it's a useful tool to inform people of what I have been doing, but I feel that it should also inform people of what I have been thinking. And so I figured, why not share my personal spiritual insights of the day?

So here's insight #1. This verse leapfrogged into my mind yesterday on New Year's Eve.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4: 6-7

It's interesting that it just says present your requests. It doesn't say anything about your prayers being answered. And yet the peace of God still comes upon us. This doesn't seem to make any sense, but this shouldn't be so surprising - after all the verse does also say that the peace of God transcends all understanding. Yet, I have experienced this strange peace when I present my worries to God. And even more strangely/amazingly, when I do it with a thankful heart, acknowledging what God has already given me despite my worries, I am filled with an unshakable peace that I cannot explain.

And so I plan to keep this truth close to my heart this year. To trust in this promise. To stand in a boat with Jesus while the storms of the world rage around me, knowing full well that He has authority to calm the wind and the waves. And be filled with the assured hope that He will eventually do so in His own time.

Bite-Size Post #7

2007-11-30T22:46:00.000+08:00

Ahh. Term is over. Will have one more supervision in 10 minutes but that's the end of it really.

It's been rather fast how my first term has gone by. Bit strange too having met quite a few people and now not seeing them for the next six weeks.

Anyways, the last week or so was good. Points of interest: sleep, went to London for the weekend and stuffed myself full of Chinese food - can't wait to get back and eat good food though, had a Christmas formal, got taken to Caffe Nero and bought drinks by our history supervisor for our final history supervision of the term - what a way to curry favour with us students, spent my last week working after having procrastinated the whole of the first week, watched some House, can't wait for Heroes finale, going to Notts tomorrow to play some bball, going on a Houseparty with my college CU from Sunday to Tuesday, slept some more.

Mmm. That's about it actually. Cambridge is in fact a very boring place in terms of entertainment -that's why you need a laptop and a good internet connection. Otherwise, it's really just a place for you to study.

Anyways, this will be likely updated for the last time before I fly home on the 10th of December. Until then, this is all I really have to say.

Bite-Size Post #6

2007-11-18T07:53:00.000+08:00

It's been a long while.

I'm on the final stretch. Term's over in 2 weeks time.

Weather's gone down to below 0 over the past few nights. And it's stayed roughly below 5 in the daytime. Although it's starting to get a bit warmer again. Freak cold spell i suppose. But it's made for some very nice lie-ins. Which means that I have been quite well rested for the past 2 nights. God answered my prayer in this respect in quite dramatic fashion. Lol.

There was a Malaysian Food Feast tonight. I am stuffed. Extremely stuffed. Think 8 course wedding dinners, where you feel sick afterwards. Food was mixed. There was quite a lot of good stuff overall though. Although I'm still itching to get some proper Malaysian food back home.

Yesterday (Friday) was hilarious. They were conducting some fire alarm testing and it was meant to begin at 9.30 and be over by 1.30. Started quite late
around 10 something, as I was leaving at around 10.45 to hand in some work before walking over to lectures. Anyways, I get back at 1, thinking that they must have conducted the testing already because it was so quiet.

I hope too much really. It went off around 1.30, and there I though ahh they're running a bit late with the testing aren't they? Then it went off again at 2 something. Correction: It went off several times for the next hour and a half. Annoying.

This wasn't the worst of it. Another fire alarm in another block kept going off up to 5.45, which happened to be in the middle of my supervision. My supervisor could only laugh it off, because he had to abandon the previous supervision after repeated attempts to talk were interrupted by the blaring alarm. Thankfully, that was the last we heard of it.

Oh, and the funny part. The objective of the test was to approve the system as functional. I don't think they passed.

That's all.

Bite-Size Post #5

2007-11-03T07:14:00.000+08:00

This really is a bite size post.

It's been almost 2 weeks since the last post. I got another free chocolate bar. I'm not sure whether that's because I'm extremely lucky, or I just buy so many the probability tips in my favour. In my defense, I believe I've only bought 5 chocolate bars over the last 2 weeks. And 1 free bar.

I've been working my bum off the last few days to get ahead of my workpile. It's coming along successfully, and I do believe that after this weekend (and probably a few days), I just might be a bit too free.

There's been a meningitis outbreak in my college. Well outbreak's exaggerating it. There's one confirmed case and the other's still undergoing lab analysis. And meningitis isn't overly contagious apparently so the chances of two or more cases is rare. In any case, that was surely reassuring, because just as the cases were being announced, I fell sick.

In retrospect it might have been a few bad nights of sleep because I certainly feel better now. But feeling a bit paranoid, I went online to check some self-diagnosing techniques. I only qualified for 3 of 7 symptoms, all of which are a result of sleep deprivation and the feeling of which I'm familiar with. (it was headache, though not severe, a slight temperature, but not overly high, and sleepiness - whether you can call it severe is another matter for discussion) And there was also a test for nuchal rigidity, or neck stiffness, which is a common symptom. And I was sitting on my chair, checking that I could touch my knee with my forehead/kiss my knee.

Yes people, it does sound quite paranoid. But you can't be too careful. And I was praying quite hard that I wouldn't fall sick this term. So even if it was a case, God pulled me through.

Well, that's all. I should head to bed before the party crowd gets back.

Oh and I should also add that Passion finally got the spelling of Kuala Lumpur right. I think they deserve an applause for that :p

Bite-Size Post #4

2007-10-21T07:35:00.001+08:00

That title is sort of a lie. I have one story from today. And I have another thing I want to share. Story first:

Profiting from faulty machinery. So tonight, after the rugby finals, I decided to get some chocolate. Went to the candy machine, and placed in a 1 pound coin. I think it's a fake to be honest, because it's the third time the machines will not accept it. Anyways, I place in the requisite 45p, and select a Galaxy Caramel. Before realising there's this bright red light next to it. Oh rats. Looking at the text, telling me to please wait, I figured it was all out. True enough, I was told to make another selection. I mused at the selection for a bit and decided to go for Maltesers. It said please wait. I thought: This has never happened to me before. It's usually quite fast. Don't tell me they're all out, and the red light didn't come on... But then I hear the packet drop. After 10 seconds. Mmm, that was long. Then as I'm bending down, I hear another packet drop. And true enough, there are two packets lying there. Talk about luck.

And now the thing I want to share. People who like the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling has just confirmed Dumbledore is gay. (For story, click here.) Now this probably answers the suspicions of several people. And corroborates certain Christian protests against the book. But the question is: is there any place for this in literature?

We live in an increasingly tolerant world. Political correctness has become the norm. But this is the result of relativism. Truth has been cast aside. Rowling claims that she's trying to promote tolerance in the book. So for the first time, while I do say that the Harry Potter books have good plot and stuff, they are full of nonsense values. (Although I do think that kids reading it would have much stuff to think about regarding truth and relativism) And this last revelation is just a bit too much.

Homosexuality is wrong. It is a sin, because it is contrary to the nature of God and His designs for creation. It epitomises the fallen nature of man. And in this increasingly tolerant world, we can only do one thing: speak out against it. Now Cambridge is an extremely liberal university (and besides I have my suspicions about the people who are gay in my college), but the Christian mandate is to say the truth. And the truth is homosexuality is wrong and therefore we should not tolerate such behaviour. But I have to be careful with my words. Our intolerance is only against the behaviour. Yet we should equally love the person. Because we might not be in that distinct situation (I assume, not that I suspect anyone to be), but we are in one same general situation. We are all subject to the wrath of God. And the only thing that separates Christians, is that God has chosen to lavish His mercy and grace on us, and through Christ we are saved.

We have a whole bunch of arguments today saying that homosexuality is natural, e.t.c. Well sin is natural really. So scientific evidence for one thing does not exclude our views. And therefore, is the power of God sufficient to overcome such inborn behaviour?

Definitely.

Bite-Size Post #3

2007-10-20T00:15:00.000+08:00

Ahh. The procrastinator is back. Here's a quick overview of my life so far.

The work's finally piled in. Was waiting for that. I have 3 supervisions a week with a similar number of assignments due every week. Two of which are essays and 1 which tends to be math related, so that means a whole load of reading and writing. History is definitely not a fun thing to do, what with the volume of reading.

We had a fire drill the other day. It was hilarious. I had got up to start on my essay and had poured myself a bowl of cereal. Feeling rather comfortable and geared to start work, two spoonfuls later, the alarm goes off. I'm there thinking: Is that the fire alarm? Followed by: Which fool set it off so early?

So anyways I proceed out of my room towards the main court, with a whole bunch of other people who were mostly rudely awakened and barely had time to pull on enough clothing, as it was quite a cold morning. One guy came out in only his boxers with a sleeping bag wrapped around himself - I think he was someone staying over - either that or he was very likely trying to make a statement. Of course, some (including me) had taken the time to put on long pants and wear our shoes and grab a jacket, although I geniusly left my door wide open, so in fact anyone cld have walked in and nick my stuff.

However, people were taking quite long, as most were asleep - this is about 7.45 in the morning. And so now we have to do the fire drill another morning, because they weren't satisfied. It's probably going to be tomorrow, on a Saturday morning, when we would love to sleep in.

On the spiritual front, the Christian Union here at my college is pretty strong, and at the moment I'm also still church hunting. There is a curse associated with sound mixing, namely that you get a bit picky about worship. Which is alright in Cambridge though, because a lot of the churches are very much solid on truth teaching, possibly a result of the intellectual community here. So all the sermons here have been good, the worship experiences a mixed bag. (with only two balls in it i might add since i've only been to two different churches)

Anyways, that's all I can think about at the moment. I'll try to be more committed to this in the future.

Bite-Size Post #2

2007-10-06T08:18:00.000+08:00

So what has happened in the last two days?

Lectures have started. It's been quite a mixed affair. After all, half the lecturers aren't as interested in lecturing as they are in their own academic study. But that's part of their whole contract so they have to do stuff. But generally, some have been interesting, some have been dead boring.

There was a pub crawl on the Thursday night - which essentially involves going from one bar to another. Irony was 8/9 of the Econs freshers do not drink. As in drink towards minimal tipsiness. Bigger irony was half the second years don't really drink either. Haha. So we ended up with sore throats trying to talk over the sheer volume of the crowd.

Had football today. Quite fun in a way eventhough I felt quite off the pace. In part due to the extremely unfit summer I had. In part due to "freshers' flu" as they call it, where every fresher gets sick in the first term, whether due to the hectic schedule or the living adjustments or the fact that everyone brings their diseases from home and spread them around.

There was a party tonight, or a 'bop' in Cambridge terms. Oh yeah. Forgot to mention there are a whole load of fancy dress parties. So I suppose I have it a bit tough cos ppl bring loads of stuff from home whereas I have to maximise my 25 kg. There was a football social before that, although that was quite a drunken mess. Which probably explained why half of the team didn't bother attending, although it was compulsory for the freshers. Both aren't really my kind of thing, but it's one of the better opportunities to meet people from outside your course.

Anyways, the weekend is tomorrow. And I have some studying to do. (And probably go meet up with the Malaysians or something) So this is it.

Bite-Size Post #1

2007-10-04T00:13:00.000+08:00

These bite size posts are for those who want to know how my day is:

Woke up at 8 something and went for an introductory lecture which was kinda dull. I think everyone now has mentioned something about seeking counselling when we encounter difficulties. Almost like the mortality rate is through the roof or something.

Went punting down the River Cam. That was quite interesting. Not as easy as it seems.

Dropped by the Freshers' Fayre. That's how they spell it. Got quite a bit of goodies and overall entertaining.

Oh. Should probably mention the fire alarm too. Some fresher used his toaster in his room and the smoke set off the alarms. A friend living on the same floor tells me it was enough smoke to cover the whole floor. Genius really. He apparently got into a lot of trouble. Although to be honest, I thought I set off the alarm. Cos I went to see the maintaenance department about my room, and as I stepped closer to the door the alarm went off, and for a while I was wondering whether it was a proximity alarm.

Had quite a satisying BBQ dinner too. Then watched some CL football.

So there ends my pretty enjoyable day.

Lectures start tomorrow. Is that good or bad? Not sure myself either.

#79: Remedy

2007-09-21T14:57:00.001+08:00

A-ha. At long last.

I know it comes out on the 25th. But that never stopped piracy. And who's to say that it wasn't the band themselves who started distributing it all over the internet. Although, I later found out after having downloaded it over night that a site is giving a free preview of the CD. So perhaps the copy I have is possibly a recording of that. I doubt anyone would go to that sort of trouble

So, here's my review of Remedy by the David Crowder*Band. (in case you haven't figured out at this point, they are my favourite worship band)

There are only 10 songs on the CD. Shock and horror. Especially when their previous album, A Collision, was 21 tracks long. Although 14 of them are actual songs in themselves. Let me post a list of the songs to help you understand better:

The Glory Of It All
Can You Feel It
Everything Glorious
...neverending...
Never Let Go
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
Rain Down
We Won't Be Quiet
Remedy
Surely We Can Change

Regardless, I still quite floored by it. Although this was also a progression. Let me explain. Everything Glorious, I heard first on the Passion 06 CD, and then they released it early in June I believe. So that got through my system. The Glory of It All was performed live at Passion 07 to which I went, and Passion released a live version. So that got through my system. Then I heard ...neverending... over YouTube. And then I found out about a freebie download of Can You Feel It.

However there was one song in particular which was quite different. Crowder rearranges hymns amazingly in my opinion. And at Passion he played his new song, O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing. And Passion had a live stream. Which cut short halfway through the Crowder song. So I'm not satisfied there. And then I realised I should have recorded the video, but the window was gone. And no one had really caught on to the song and recorded it as well.

And so I wait. And wait. Until yesterday, when worshiptogether.com released a preview of the song, and Remedy as well. I can't get over those two songs yet.

But that's for the review.

So how's the album generally?

Fantastic. Inspiring collection of songs on love, on grace, on glory, on redemption and the position that puts us in and the mandate we have.

The rest of the post is a specific review so read on if you want to be bored by me (or inspired when you listen to the album) - either way works.

Alright. How's the album specifically? This is going to be like one of those internet reviews drawn out longer. Much much longer.

The Glory Of It All on the album doesn't disappoint. The increased sonic clarity as compared to the live recording gives it a more reverent tone and you can hear the layers built beautifully as the song hits its crescendo. Makes you want a violin *cough*ShanBerg*cough* in worship services. It hits my list of favourites because it paints quite a vivid picture of the glory of God from start to finish and the story of redemption. Oh the glory of it all is you came here for the rescue of us all that we may live for the glory of it all.

Can You Feel It is well plain catchy. You can only classify it as a techno track. The loops and synths are quite awesome actually. But I wouldn't let the music distract you from the lyrics, which basically setup the rest of the album. It beggars the question whether you can feel the presence of God. And that we can't comprehend that God is there, is everywhere. But as the music dies off with that question, it builds up into the idea that regardless, we know and we BELIEVE that our God is here with us. And it is this belief, this idea of faith that gives us the platform to do much for God.

So we then head into Everything Glorious. This one I have to thank Tim for bringing my attention to it on the Passion 06 CD. I still remember him saying at camp "I think this song is going to be a hit." Good call Tim. This is yet another song about the glory of God, and how that is reflected in all God creates. He makes everything glorious, and the catch line here is: And I am Yours.

Then we head into ...neverending... Haha. Now this is one of two fun songs on the CD. He plays this with a Guitar Hero controller. But past the video game like connotations of the music, there is an interesting message here. It's probably the spiritual successor to Foreverandever etc. on A Collision. It talks about our eternal God and then goes on to say how He is in us, and that this makes all the difference, this changes everything and makes our whole existence worth something.

The next song is quite an abrupt change of tone. It's an especially poignant song. It is set within the context of a time of personal troubles, a time of spiritual turmoil and darkness, "when hope has flown", it clings to the promise that God is known to be ever faithful, ever true, and he'll never let go. And if we cling to that promise, we will begin to comprehend the overflowing power of the love of God, to drive out our despair. Joy and pain, sun and rain, you're the same, you never let go pretty much sums up the song as it draws to a close.

Now to my favourite of the whole album. O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing. I would almost think it'd suffice to post the lyrics of this song and let them explain themselves. But the lyrics are long. After all it's a hymn WITH an added chorus and bridge. So I won't do that. Why do I love this song? It's one of those rare blends of amazing lyrics and instrumentation. It's a song of joy over the love of Jesus and the glory of redemption which builts into a response to the "one great love, Jesus" - So come on and sing out let our anthem grow loud, there is one great love, Jesus. And the bridge hits a note on what it's all about. There are so few words that never grow old, Jesus. It's a foretelling of what heaven will be like, where this one word will never grow old. Can't really describe the music here so just go to http://www.worshiptogether.com/ and click on the newsongjukebox in the corner to hear it.

Rain Down. Haha. I first heard this on the All I Can Say album. It piqued my interest actually. Let me post the lyrics and I'll explain why:
Holy is the Lord, Holy is the Lord
Holy is the Lord, Holy is the Lord

Rain down your love on us, rain down your love
Rain down your grace and cover me
Rain down your love on us, rain down your peace
Pretty short huh. What caught my attention the most was the progression. It's a song of prayer. It's extremely rockish on both cuts, with added electronic flair on the new album, but it's essentially a prayer. And here's how I finally realised it linked. Our God is a holy God, and His holiness means we deserve his wrath, but we've been saved by His redemptive work through Jesus. So what we have here is as we try to be holy as God is holy, we hit a problem, the problem of our 'flesh'. And thus the plea that God rains down his love, his grace and his peace on us. Strange outro on the song though.

Next song. We Won't Be Quiet. Kind of like We Win on A Collision. It's one of those anthem like songs and it's the second of two "fun songs" on the CD. The title's pretty much self explanatory, that we won't be quiet about what Jesus has done for us. However, upon further reflection, is this always the case?

And now the jewel of the CD, the self-labelled Remedy. This song is amazing and it completes the list of my three favourite songs. I should just post what i believe the lyrics are.

Here we are, here we are/The broken and used/Mistreated, abused/Here we are
Here you are, here you are/The beautiful one who came like the Son/Here you are

So we lift up our voices and open our hands/To cling to a love we can't comprehend/Lift up your voices and lift up your hands/To sing of the love that has freed us from sin

He is the one who has saved us/He is the one who embraced us/He is the one who has come and is coming again/He is the remedy

Here we are, here we are/Bandaged and bruised, awaiting a cure/Here we are
Here you are, here you are/Our beautiful King bringing relief/Here you are with us

So we lift up our voices and open our hands/Let go of the things that have kept us from Him

He is the one who has saved us/He is the one who forgave us/He is the one who has come and is coming again/He is the remedy

Oh and I can't comprehend/I can't take it all in/Nor will understand/Such perfect love/Oh the broken and beat/The wounded and weak/Come fall at his feet/He is the remedy/He is the remedy

He is the one who has saved us/He is the one who forgave us/He is the one who has come and is coming again/He is the remedy/He is the remedy/He is the remedyHe is the remedy/So sing, sing/You're the one who has saved us/You are the one who forgave us/You are the one who has come and is coming again/You are the one who has come and you're coming again/You are the one who has come and is coming again/To make it alright/To make it alright/You're the remedy/You're in us/You're the remedy/You're in us

Let us be the remedy

Enough said there.

Final track is Surely We Can Change. Kind of like Stars on Illuminate but even more quieter, and more violin, less audible acoustic strumming. It talks about our mandate. That we seldom get into action despite all we've experience from God. The whole album has been about love and glory and grace and things like that, a stunning story of redemption, and yet we just never know what to do with such love - And the problem it seems is with you and me not the love who came to repair everything
- and that we must choose what our hands will do especially in our world today which is full of love and hatred. And it calls us: where there is pain let us bring grace, where there is suffering bring serenity, for those afraid let us be brave, where there is misery let us bring them relief. And there's an amazing line: And surely we can change, surely we can change something. It's not a question but a statement. That we have God on our side to go out and do something in this world.

And the whole album goes out on a tense note: The whole world's about to change... The funny thing, or maybe not, was that reading this line on a blog post of his, I thought: Isn't this a premature statement? But listening through the whole collection, if this message will not inspire us, then what will? The whole world will change, if only we realise what we have on our side.

Inspiring collection of music. I know this has been a huge gush. Ah well. I also realised that he uses the word comprehend quite a bit. But fairly accurate term as we try to take the vastness of it all in.

#78: Knowledge vs. wisdom

2007-09-14T12:49:00.000+08:00

Well. It's been quite a while since I've done a sermon-like post.

The concept which I wish to consider today is the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Or simply (succintly - another word to improve your vocab) put, what's right isn't always wise.

To illustrate my point, let me use two examples that are close to my heart. The first is what we call a Pyrrhic victory. The story behind the term is an interesting one. It originates from the story of King Pyrrhus and his invasion of Rome. The Greek and Roman armies were evenly match but Pyrrhus appeared to possess better troops, better tactics and a wealth of battle experience. Yet after several days of fighting, the outcome wasn't any clearer.

Finally, the Greek army managed to prevail and drove back the Romans. Yet, Pyrrhus was now in an incredibly weak position. Far from home and without reinforcements, the enemy may had lost the battle but were still in the stronger position. Pyrrhus said "One more such victory and I am lost". He never conquered Rome.

The lesson of the story here is that some battles are won at too great a cost. This is often the case in relationships with other people. You know you are dead right, and maybe the person eventually does too. But pride stops us from stopping when we should. And so we end up forsaking the relationship for the victory as we argue and slam the other person's opinions. It was right, but it wasn't wise. Treasure the relationship, not your pride. If the other person is wrong, gently correct, never assuming yourself as a superior example, but as a friend to guide.

The second illustration I feel applies to exemplary leadership. And this is ever more evident in the context of the church today. It can be summed up in one key bible verse:

"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." 1 Corinthians 8:1.

This verse was written in the context of eating food sacrificed to idols. Although all foods were proclaimed clean, for the conscience of the weak believer, the mature wise believer should refrain from such foods as to not condemn their weak consciences. The bible calls us to refrain from becoming a "stumbling block" to other believers.

And this applies across every facet of leadership. From your relationships to your actions, it is important that none become a stumbling block to others. Knowledge in its context here can be interpreted as a truth without love. And so I present wisdom as its extension, a truth practiced in love. The wise man is known by God, because he loves God. This is seen in verse 2. And to be known by God in this context is something not to be taken lightly!

This gives us the foundation to move from knowledge to wisdom. And as the wise man loves God, this love overflows onto others. And this love being rooted and established in God, who is Truth, the embodiment of all that is Right, thus surpasses knowledge. It's really the difference between "head knowledge" and "heart knowledge". The first precludes love, the second is borned out of love for God.

So here's the exhortation. In all you do, in every aspect of your life, always act rightly, not out of a knowledge of good and evil, but out of a wisdom that comes from loving God and knowing God.

And to the leaders (both present and future and even past) of the youth/college group at my church, this is an ever more important exhortation:

Don't go for Pyrrhic victories. Always treasure the relationship over your pride. As mentioned, this doesn't give us license to let wrongdoing fester, but it tells us to enforce the truth IN love.

And in all your ways set a wise example. Maturity does not give you license to do everything without consideration for love. The biggest example of this is, in my opinion, in the area of boy-girl relationships. Just because it's not wrong to pursue one discards the principle of wisdom. If you do not want to be a stumbling block, the wise course suggests to steer clear until you're 18, i.e. out of secondary.

And finally, to those who might think this post is directed at them, well you are in every sense right. But I do this out of love for you as a person, not out of a need to stamp my ways on you. The course of wisdom is always justified by the blessings of God, as perceived in the book of Proverbs.

14 days to go

2007-09-11T17:44:00.001+08:00

Ah.. 2 weeks to get everyting done. Lol. Things left to do: Apply for student visa, get medical checkup and buy lots of T-shirts.

Anyways, I know I did say a post a day. Now I think about it, it's kind of impossible to do so. So maybe I should rescale to 2 moderately sized posts a week, or small posts every 2 days, bite sized news everyday and 1 big one a week.

Now that looks more realistic heading into term time.

Am I excited about heading to Cambridge? Haha. Let's just say I expect it to be quite the experience.

So I finished reading one of the books today, "The Worldly Philosophers" by Robert Heilbroner. I would think a must-read by anyone interested in the slightest in economics. It is a narrative description of the evolution of economics as a discipline from its founding father Adam Smith, to the world today. Surprisingly, it's not a dry text. Although Heilbroner has an annoying tendency to laden his text with big words, I guess to make it sound more intellectual, or perhaps it is the most accurate word available and in hindsight I think my vocabulary just expanded by another 200 words or so, it is quite fascinating and interesting to note that as suggested in the title of the book, he looks at the philosophers, not the mathematicians.

Thus, the book presents the grand scale of things, describing the oddities of the protagonists of the book and the environment(which he substitutes with the word milieu) in which they grew up in and how this influences their thinking.

And so as I was reading this book, it ended with the issue of the future of capitalism, the economic system of markets as we know today. For through the centuries since Adam Smith, many had theorised as to the direction of this economic system. And one comment caught my attention in particular - one of the philosophers, Joseph Schumpeter - states that capitalism may be an economic success, but not a sociological success.

Now I did not quite agree with the reasoning that followed that comment, but in my own way, I interpreted that quite differently.

It is without a doubt that we are at a point in time where the world is increasingly becoming more prosperous. Despite the fluctuations of the economy, the periods of recession and growth, there exists an upward trend of growth nevertheless. Yet prosperity does not equate with being better off.

I remember reading a John Piper sermon once that said, in my own paraphrased terms: Satan either attacks you through prosperity or pain, prosperity so that you will forget the need to depend on God, and pain so that you will doubt the existence of a good and loving God. This pattern is observed in the Bible with the Israelites who grew prosperous and forgot about what God had done to get them where the were, and with Job where in his pain he started to doubt that God was for Him in all things.

And in this age, the attack is in prosperity. For when God becomes superfluous, the devil wins. And with the economic success of capitalism, are we at all surprised that we are seeing a growing lukewarmness in the church, or that matters of spiritualism, of the purpose of life, are no longer important in the pursuit of wealth, or the pursuit of happyness, which was a good movie in one way and had a horrible value in another way.

Now, the disclaimer first: I think that without a doubt, this increased prosperity has been beneficial in the sociological sense that we are seeing more help going to the needy, also aided by the increased globalisation of this world. But then to look at the magnitude of everything, with the population of the earth at 6.7 billion, are the needy actually relatively getting more help, or losing out in the rat race?

I don't know and I can't back my hunches up statistically, but I certainly know that we are not doing as much as we can. Capitalism as a money making machine is incredibly efficient, but I believe that we are compelled, specifically as Christians, to channel that sort of wealth and time to help the needy. Don't just leave philanthropy to the rich, everyone can do their part.

Where does the future of capitalism lie? Like everything else, in the long run everything is meaningless. The future of capitalism lies with us today. Our decision to use this God given system to love the world is what matters. As half of the people reading this won't be working just yet, I suppose this post serves as a reminder to me and them in the future that we work for the accumulation of treasures in heaven and not on earth. Neither should we get so caught up in the money making machine that we lose our first love in the hustle and bustle.

I think this will be the first of 2 posts this week.

Picking up the pace

2007-09-06T23:57:00.000+08:00

Interesting day today I must say.

First of all, I spent my morning in a stupor. How can your mind be on overtime but the rest of your body feel so tired is probably the most annoying thing in the universe.

Secondly, upon some reflection, I think my inability to learn to swim originates from a fear of asphyxiation/suffocation/not being able to breathe. This finds its foundation in that when I sleep, I have moments where I feel like my body is paralysed, and I'm struggling to get a breath but feel completely smothered. And so it becomes an intense struggle to regain consciousness, almost as if I'm limp under water or something. And then I wake up gasping for air. Before realising really that I'm not really gasping and that my body is in a breathable position - i.e. not buried in pillows. Although at this point, my heart is pounding quickly, and I've broken into a cold sweat.

Thirdly, Matt left for the US today. Sigh. There goes the cheese. What am I going to eat my corn with now?

Hehe. That was probably painful to read for some of you.

Fourthly, I am greatly looking forward to the release of Remedy. September 25th can't come any faster, can it? Although I'm also leaving Malaysia on that day for the UK, so the feelings are a bit mixed.

And now, after having a review of my day, I wish to rant on/discuss/discourse on the reason why reading is an unpopular activity. My opinion is that people are lazy to read simply because of the amount of brain power it takes. However, if it's reading a good fiction book, people can stay addicted to them. So I figured it boils down to one thing: interest. How can reading be made interesting becomes the logical question.

Well, I would think first of all, you would need to get a good book. However, it's easy for people to read Harry Potter. It's much harder to read the non-fiction stuff, or the 'deep' stuff as people would call it. Note the generalised use of people. So I suppose it's just a habit that has to be cultivated. I read somewhere that the slow person reads 200 words a minute, 3000 words in 15 minutes, 1095000 words a year if he reads for 15 minutes every day, if translated into pages, would be 3041 pages assuming that the average book has 360 words per page. Most books are at most 300 pages, which then translates into at least 10 books a year.

That is a staggering amount put into context. So I would say get some books and start reading 15 minutes a day. You'll be surprised how much you cover. And this assumes you read for just 15 minutes, slow enough to grasp everything.

And perhaps you might start to develop an interest for the things you read. If not, it's time to switch reading material.

And in fact, I do have a second insight. Or rather a second point of discourse: Do only-childs tend to seek the physical presence and acknowledgment of others more than those with siblings? I'll ramble about this further next post. The assumption here would be that the only-child in question is not of the introverted loner type, i.e. enjoys being by himself.

The return

2007-09-05T22:43:00.000+08:00

Ahh. Well. I've managed to settle into a certain rhythm now.

Sure took a long time - 2 months and a bit in fact.

Anyways, this is my first post on my new laptop. Haha. Quite happy with it. Although at the moment I'm slightly disappointed because it still doesn't feel like a super powerful processor with 4GB of RAM. And to disappoint me further, I discovered that Vista takes up half a GB of RAM. So my laptop is officially listed as having 3.5GB of RAM. What a rip-off, in a way. I think I better install a really powerful computer game soon to test how powerful this laptop really is.

I finally finished all my driving. Just passed today. Quite a peculiar road test I must say though. Haha. There were so many people that my invigilator told me to go as fast as I wanted to. Her two most popular phrases: "Tak perlu berhenti" and "Tekan minyak!!" As a disclaimer, I wish to say that the first phrase was in relation to all those stop signs, which she told me to not bother stopping at unless there were cars, and the acceleration bit was when i was speeding (again the term is relative) at 65kph. Although in fairness, another testee in front of me was really really slow, so I tried to overtake them, except that the pickup is not that fast, and said testee didn't even look at his side mirror and just cut back in front of me as soon as i was about to finish my overtake, to which my invigilator then said, "Apa ini! Tak tahu memandu!" - to the car in front, not me.

Anyways, I've been doing quite a bit of reading in preparation for my economics course. And some shopping in preparation for going over. But I'm currently feeling quite under the weather - not at tiptop condition - for some reason unknown. So I've not really been in the mood to do much else.

To my faithful readers (7 according to my blog stat counter), I feel that this will mark the recommence of the daily post. I will try to think of a noteworthy theme to guide the next few topics. Although I should add one more disclaimer - I can only post provided I'm at home for at least 4 hours, not inclusive of sleeping, and in one solid block. Otherwise I won't have the time.

#73

2007-07-25T23:36:00.001+08:00

Ahh. #73. I'll give a prize to anyone who can guess the significance of that number.

On a completely unrelated note, an update of life so far, since the last post.

1) I got tagged again. I can only ask you to refer to my previous post, in which I said you'll learn about me from reading my blog, in Bonus Fact #9.

2) I got food poisoning. Gave me a fever for one and a half to two days. Bleargh. Stomach's not feeling all that great at the moment. I won't go into too many more details

3) Been playing some Football Manager.

4) Learning what boredom is.

5) Went to an orphanage today(Saturday) with the group from church. Makes me feel grateful for how blessed my life is. Kids there were great. And I'm not great with kids. So that makes them pretty spectacular kids I must say.

6) Started on my summer reading list. Books covered so far: 1. Books to go: 19. Great effort so far.

7) Read the 7th Harry Potter book. Last Saturday that is. Pretty neat ending. I call the book movie material. And that's a compliment. I think I now understand what they mean by a 'spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace' (see inside flap of paper cover)

8) Currently looking around table for some semblance of what my life was like the past week. Mmm. I don't see anything.

Oh wait. Look. I just posted 8 facts about myself. Lol.

And that concludes today's post #73.

Double Tag

2007-07-24T23:27:00.000+08:00

So ridiculously enough, I got double tagged. The second tagger was pretty blur, not reading the first taggers blog properly. However, just because I got double tagged, doesn't mean I'm going to post 16 facts about myself. I'll stick with the 8.

Anyways, let me cut to the chase:

1) Each player must post these rules first.
2) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3) People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.Here are 8 little known facts about me:

I'll add something else. I'm not going to reveal any toilet habits or anything.

Fact #1: I'm actually quite kiasu. Well used to be. Back when I was younger, I could not tolerate anyone who was better than me at something, preferring to use all sorts of excuses to justify my relative weakness.

Fact #2: I'm dead terrified of cockroaches. Come to think of it, I don't quite like insects on me. Although if I'm on one of my expeditions, I don't mind so much. It's very much an issue of hygiene. Anyways, the whole cockroach thing started when my brother lured me onto one when I was 5. To make things worse, I had just read that Hepatitis gets spread through cockroaches. So I was dead scared and crying quite badly as I ran to my mum. And cockroaches are really just plain gross. And they can fly too.

Fact #3: I would wet my bed because I would not be able to get up. This happened till I was 7/8 I think. Then one day, I just woke up and the whole spell ended. I still drool though. But I don't snore. Unless I'm really tired.

Fact #4: I used to think Harry Potter was extremely childish. Kinda scorned people who read it. Then my brother got the first book for his present. Was extremely bored. Book lying on table. What's the craze all about?? Pick up book and open page. Never looked back. Lol. Nothing like a good easy book with good plot to follow. Strangely enough, I still don't own the second book.

Fact #5: I used to think music was a waste of time. Ironic isn't it.

Fact #6: I had quite the 'potty-mouth' in primary.

Fact #7: I hated cartoons when I was young but now I love to while away the time watching cartoon after cartoon. Mmm. Talk about 'regressing'. Although I tend to prefer the comic-book type cartoons.

Fact #8: Despite garnering a reputation as a teacher's pet, I'm actually quite lazy, preferring to spend time on my computer surfing my regular sites or gaming for hours on end. I also enjoy watching TV and the occasional read. And the funny thing is that I require a lot of sleep, which is sometimes impossible with my habits, and therefore I find myself catching some shut eye in class quite a bit. Got someone into trouble once that way. Ah well.

Bonus Fact #9: The fact is that you'll actually learn a lot about me if you read my blog. When I get round to updating it a bit more frequently yet again.

And that concludes it.

Who do I tag? That's quite funny actually, because very few of my friends blog. And most of them have sunk into the 'cesspit of the internet'.

Sigh. If you feel like I would tag you, then do self-tag and tell me 8 facts about yourself. Or in fact, you could leave it under comments here, knowing very well that the people I would want to tag don't operate a blog.

A recollection

2007-07-12T18:34:00.000+08:00

First note the title change. Now, I have no clue why I picked that phrase but it just popped out. After all this blog is really my thoughts expressed in written form. I chose the word fleeting though because my thoughts have an annoying habit of running off just as I'm about to say or write them.

Mmm. Anyways, a little history.

I started off this blog as an experiment into why people write blogs and why people read blogs. My results are startling zilch. I can therefore hypothesise that people write blogs because there comes a time in their life when they are really bored and sitting in front of their computer and they go "Why not start a blog? It would give me something to do."

Then there are those people who think it's a fad and they sink into the "cesspit of the internet" - that phrase is not of my own invention. And there are those who use it to keep in touch with friends although the rising popularity of facebook as a tool of colleges and university groups to keep in touch means that blogs are more or less redundant for this purpose. And then there are those who just want to tell the whole world what they think - and to connect with the rest of the world.

A lot are however very much introspective and just a ramble on their own life stories.

Why do people read blogs? I do that a lot. I think it gives insight into the character of a person. They can be quite amusing at times. And they alert you to what's going on. Because for some people blogs are public diaries. They kind of hint I'm going through something bad right now which you should know about when that person is going through something bad except that the person wants everyone to know that without knowing what the really bad thing is - if that sentence even made sense.

And blogs are just a way to follow someone's life. Even if the person treated his blog as a column, you follow his perspective on life and we humans are at heart nosey creatures who want to know what the other person is up to or thinking about.

Anyways last week was my Mt Kinabalu expedition. Terribly painful I must say. And I thought I had scaled the highest peak in SEA only to realise to my utter dismay that it is in fact the third highest peak. Although in my defence the other two are pretty much unscaleable to the amatuer mountaineer. The highest is on the indonesian side of the papau new guinea island and requires extreme technical ability, so much so that it is labelled as one of the "seven summits", a challenge issued to mountaineers. The second is in myanmar and would take weeks to climb, considering you even get permission to enter myanmar in the first place.

So in consolation I climbed "the highest scaleable peak in the shortest time possible" in SEA. My legs were in jitters for days after, i.e. up to Sunday although it tingled till Tuesday. And I played basketball for an hour and a half on Saturday morning and 2 hours of futsal that evening. Ahh genius me although my theory is that the endorphin release of exercise actually eased the ache (until I woke up the next morning).

I would post pictures except that I dont have good ones right now. They're on someone else's camera. And I have hood hair cos I was wearing a hoodie in the blistering cold.

I thought i lost weight. So I came home and checked. 1 kg. Bleargh. A bit disappointing although someone said that my face fat has kinda diminished. Can't be a bad thing. Quite a good intensive workout though - felt my heart humming quite a bit. Anyways it took about 6hr 45 mins to reach the summit, and took about 4 hours to get down. Compare that to some record of 2hr 50mins 38secs or something like that to go up and down - i.e. 21km. Although by our measurements the trail is only 8.5 km one way, i.e. two ways is 17km - so where did the extra 4 km come from. Hmm. Extremely mysterious. But it baffles me how someone made it up and down so fast when the terrain is quite killer. They must have been flying.

Anyways I think this is the end of today's imprint.

Who says pleasure and pain dont mix?

2007-06-20T22:46:00.000+08:00

I am nursing an extremely bruised (the part below your knee that isn't quite your shin yet - unless the shin is in fact that whole part between your knee and ankle and not just the lower part where shinpads go - I won't know, I don't do biology).

Haha. It's been a long time since I got knocked up like that.

Here's another question that popped up in my mind also while playing futsal today - why do I always suffer from leg cramps during futsal but when I play basketball, I can do it for 3 hours straight without any problem? (welll straight is an exaggeration, insert 5/7 minute breaks here and there, but not too often)

Then you got all that about stretching more and blah blah blah.

And I think after today, it's safe to say that the goalkeeping position is probably the most dangerous one in football. Balls flying at you ain't fun. Haha. Especially when one smacks you right in the chest before the game even starts. And plus the fact that the bruising came when I ran out to make a challenge. By the way disclaimer straight away right here: I'm a horrible goalkeeper.

Which leads to a second question: How many people assume that basketballers make good goalkeepers and why? Just because we can handle a size 8 ball that doesn't swerve and has better grip doesn't automatically translate into a size 6 ball that has smooth sides and travels much much faster. Haha. Except that I don't mind playing it every now and then, when I need a break. (Although again my leg cramp attacked me when I was playing goalie - tis a cursed position)

Oh ya. And a really funny observation. Well, whether anyone else finds it funny is another matter. I noticed that how many people in goal (me included) always try to avoid a ball that comes really really fast (which equates with power which then equates with pain) at them. So I figured, that means we all know where the ball is really going and the only thing is is that we choose to not be in the path of that ball, and then the funny thing is is that goalies are meant to be in the path of that ball.

Lol. Football rant. Blame it on my bruising. Now I shall uh shift my attention to the title of my post at hand. And well, my rant wasn't quite a rant. There was sort of a point. Notice how I can complain about the pain, i.e. the bruising and the cramps, but if you asked me whether I enjoyed it, then yeah. So it's the same thing with 'religion' isn't it? People always think that life with God on your side is a bed of roses, and then stop believing when reality begins to contradict that belief.

So my answer is: Who says pleasure and pain don't mix? (haha, I believe this is the first time I've used a title in my actual post itself) And the thing is at the end, all you remember is the pleasure. The pain goes away in due course. So life is like that. Pain and pleasure, like ham and eggs, or bread and butter, or chicken rice, or whatever pair you want, will coexist in this life. But the best thing about it is that some pleasures are worth the pain.

Especially when the object of your pleasure is the most pleasurable thing in the universe. The question then becomes: Is it really?

Another disclaimer: That was a pretty simplified view of things. And I don't claim to cover all the angles with that. There are exceptions that arise as a result of different circumstances, e.t.c. But the basic principle is there.

The disappointment of the moment

2007-06-18T22:18:00.000+08:00

Hahaha. I thought this would feel a lot more liberating. But I think my mind went on holiday the moment my exams started. So having no school (and even exams) now seems to feel no different.

Well. Quite disappointing I must say.

Things to do: Get my driving done.

That is all at the moment. I'm planning to bum this whole week before I get down to do something useful for the rest of my holidays. And Kinabalu is coming up in two weeks so there's not too much bumming around time between then and now from the looks of things.

Anyways, now that I'm free, I still can't think of what to blog about. Sheesh. You probably wasted your time reading this thus far. (not that you don't necessarily waste your time with all my other posts)

So yeah. Give me a few days to think it over.

Exams so far

2007-06-07T17:28:00.000+08:00

Ahh. My important papers are finished. Bar one. But that one is a MCQ paper, so it shld be a piece of cake.

Mmm. Further math. First paper - should have done better. Second paper - not very good. Haha. Especially when you realise later what you should have done. Ah well. Will pray for my A, since I need it pretty badly. Bleargh..Didn't help that I had to fall sick today as well.

Econs and history shld be no problem.

Anyways, yeah, this is a bit weird. Nearly having finished the exams. I would be a bit more relaxed if I had got a better Applied Further Math paper and/or not made the really dumb mistakes on my pure paper. That way I won't be worried about the grade. Right now, I'm a bit nervous. And that's for 2 months. Lol. I wonder if I can sleep this off. If not I'm in for 2 months of incredible tension.

Next week, 3 more papers on 2 more days.

And then I have to figure out what to do. Long holidays = lots of bumming around. But then the holidays may seem even longer if I'm still as worried about that grade.

I have not been in this kind of situation ever.

And 'tis horrible.

This was probably the most irrational post ever, due to the fact that that dumb paper is still on the back of my mind and so my thoughts are very incoherent at the moment.

FM Paper 1 = 82? + FM paper 2 = 70?, aggregate mark = 76% - is this a predicted A?. That's the bottomline I'm looking at. Assumptions made: That I only dropped that many marks...Hehe. My margin of error is 12 which equals to one question. Not the best margin I would say.

Ahh. It's times like these where you just have to trust God for the grade. Which would translate into whether I end up at Cambridge or be the idiot who missed the A and had to go off to LSE - not that the latter is shoddy, but the former is a lot more desirable.

Kids today..

2007-05-22T21:33:00.000+08:00

What influences kids the most today? Is it their peers, family members, TV, music or something else?

So here's a short story of what happened on the Wednesday of the second last week of school, i.e. 9thMay2007, coincidentally my Dad's birthday now I think about it.

Anyways, me, AJ and BB (names initialised to conceal identity) are walking into school after lunch, and so there's this bunch of students (Yr8s according to CC) sitting at the steps. And of course, being impossibly dense, they're blocking the path. So while I'm there signing everyone in, AJ starts walking down those stairs.

More like tries walking down those stairs. And then one of the Yr8s tell some friend of theirs, can't recall the name, to get out of the way. So I'm right behind AJ and I open my mouth and say,

"Yeah. Stop blocking the stairway."

I take a few more steps when suddenly behind me a voice rings out, extremely clear.

"*@#^ off!"

So I'm pretty shocked. Now it's one thing to be told that jokingly by a friend. But from a Yr 8 kid who's half my size and 6 years younger??

In disbelief, I glance around. "Pardon?"

"Yeah. *@#^ off!" was the reply. And then his bunch of friends start laughing. As if they scored a victory over some sixth former. Blah.

Now several options ran through my head at this moment.
1. Instinctively turn around, pick the boy up by the scruff of his shirt, and ask him the question one more time. Now this would have been a great option, except I think it's also classified as assault.
2. Turn around and confront him face to face, while his friends scatter and make a run for it, abandoning their smart-mouth friend to confront my wrath. Problem is, my thoughts were so scrambled at this point that my smart mouth wasnt in the mood to give someone a lecture.
3. Walk away. Give him his moment of immature triumph. This pettiness is way below me.

So I picked option 3, since I was facing the opposite direction anyways. Was too lazy to turn back around. Of course as I walk down that extremely long - and really Malaysian uneven - pathway, I was happily considering Option 2. But I guess as the distance grew longer, I kinda felt a bit..sad.

It's kind of sad the kind of kids we have today. Now of course, it's possible that this happens in an international school anyways. But i doubt that too.

So why is it that kids have such 'smart mouths' nowadays? Why are they so immature. Just two days later, on a Friday, they were fighting with the two protagonists being cheered on by their friends - wait a minute, I thought they were all friends? Or is it that this is the 'cool' group and everyone wants to join in. So they're not really good friends but just a bunch of kids who are trying to fit in with the popular guy/girl and the popular guy just loves being the center of attention (probably the same guy with the smart mouth) but otherwise has no good friends.

Well that's my theory of school society in any case. But it's kinda sad that the lower years are becoming quite immoral. Why do kids feel the urge to turn to all kinds of stuff like sex, drugs, what they think is cool rebellious disrespectful behaviour, e.t.c.?

Mmm. Well. Kids today. What can you say?

The end - not quite but nearly there

2007-05-19T19:37:00.000+08:00

So school ended on Friday. It was quite a riot. Crowded corridors, balloons everywhere, and people chasing and being chased around. Quite an apt ending to years and years of school.

And well here I am. Well there I was. Actually both apply. Anyways, I was looking forward to better hours but I guess the consensus is that everyone will miss the spontaneity of school. The really random things that happen that makes life interesting. Especially further math sessions and the random chats, and attempts to avoid the lesson and go out for lunch, and the really random constructive vandalism of the room we're in.

I most definitely will not miss the canteen. I will not miss the homework. If someone misses them, like BB, I will laugh in his face.

Um yeah quite random that. There's also the fact that I think my arms will finally be stain free every Tuesday and/or Wednesday. And I wouldn't be so bruised by the random limb extensions of a certain trio.

It is little things like this that I will always remember. Although I don't think Andy would be flattered that every marker pen reminds me of those econs lessons sitting right next to him. But the big things like friends are still around, so here was the question I was thinking about. Is it school that I will miss, or is it the fact that you meet your friends everyday that I will miss?

Irrespective, haha, here's to a good 7 years of post-primary school education. Now just for those pesky exams. They better not try to be smart with the papers this year, especially those further math examiners.

Not another one already??

2007-05-10T21:11:00.000+08:00

As quoted by Ben Bradley.

Mmm. Here comes the overdue breakdown of Utd's season so far. Watched them got dumped out of the CL. Was quite resigned to the defeat, seeing as how Milan played a fantastic game. Ahh. To imagine a trio of Kaka, Ronaldo and Rooney - makes you want to drool. That is if they play for ManU. And the rain kinda added to the drama of everything.

There have been a few ups and downs in the premiership run in, but I can safely say I was confident we would win the title that weekend. Thus when Vassell stepped up to take that penalty, I had the gut feeling he would miss. Destiny awaited.

And the FA Cup's coming up. Lol. It would be fun to crush Chelsea's miserable season. But the problem with that is the harder they fall, the harder they bounce back. So there's a danger there.

And my predictions as to who the transfer targets are? I have no clue to be honest. But I would like: Hargreaves, E'too and Robben. Then we'll truly rip apart defenses. Only problem is that these three have not had the best fitness records in recent times. And that raises the question of where does Giggs and Scholes go? Will Ferguson let loose the brutal axe? Doubt it, not with the way they can change games. And maybe a right back would be good. Neville's not going to last much longer.

Football aside, I can't believe that as of this writing, I only have 6 school days left in my whole life. Haha. Of course there's the revision for the exams, but still. Lol. With regards to that, I would still like a Sloman.

Again as you can see, this post is degenerating into mumbo-jumbo. So here's something for everyone to think about. This topic came up in my math class the other day. When we grow older, let's say 30 years from now, will our kids look at us the way we look at our parents and claim how 'outdated' we are? - of course this doesn't apply to all parents.

My opinion was no. We grew up in the age of technological exploration and as such have the skill sets to adapt to changing technologies. Before I went on to say that the generations below us are now in fact spoon fed on how to do stuff. Lol. I wonder how true that comment is. Then we went to the topic of music. This one has my interests quite piqued actually. Our parents usually label our music today as noisy, but that's because instruments like the electric guitar and drums weren't played the way they are played today, especially with the countless pedals being produced nowadays for electric guitarists. My opinion is that music has reached its zenith, where it becomes near impossible for new genre's to be produced. We'll see blending happening and consumer's tastes being divided into many different blends, with no one blend achieving dominance over the other unless a certain band or two become extremely popular.

Mmm. I should keep this blog running for another 30 years and see what really happens.

The devil loves mirrors

2007-05-07T20:35:00.000+08:00

I believe that Satan wins a battle whenever he gets us to look in a mirror at ourselves.

When we get so caught up in our individuality, we lose sight of a lot of things.

Which in fact leads to one of the most dominant worldviews of religion today - that we earn our way to heaven. Having to do good works to satisfy God's demands. Thus when we believe in a certain religion, we are condemned to a life of slavery and struggling to do good against our inner nature.

I would have to agree that we enter a life of slavery, and I do agree that our inner nature always fights against our wanting to do good.

Except for one thing.

Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2: 4-5

In that one biblical statement, the root of the Christian faith is summed up. God is the judge yes, but he is also merciful. And because He loves us, he made us alive with Christ - now this is the key part, because no one can come before God except through Jesus - even when we were dead in transgressions - it is a fact that we are all dead in our evilness. Nothing we do can save ourselves, no matter the number of good deeds, we are inherently, by nature, evil.

And it is by grace we have been saved. Grace is an amazing thing isn't it. It's just like saying George Bush captures Osama bin Laden, then says, alright you're off the hook.

I myself, for one, would be outraged. And unless you're an Osama supporter, you would be horrified at this act of grace.

Except that God did that for us. It is by His grace we are no longer judged, as long as we are in Christ Jesus.

Many reject this simple offer, because they believe that it is too good to be true. We humans are by nature suspicious of offers too good to be true, because we think we are being conned. And this is exactly what is happening, but it is the devil that is the conman - he arouses our suspicions so that we become wary of this simple offer.

Someone once said, that in fact, this is a story too good to not be true. And this grace is indeed too good to not be true. Redeemed and the way to heaven open for us. It is too good to not be true. The inner child in us seizes at this opportunity, just as how a sick man would seize any cure within grasp in his desperation.

I'm not saying the Christian life is free of suffering. In fact, contrary, it is full of suffering. After all the Bible says that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. The early Christian church suffered much. But what is suffering, when compared to the joy set before us? The Bible describes the kingdom of heaven as a treasure hidden in the field, which a man sold all he had in order to buy it after discovering it. Jesus himself even rebuked this notion of sacrifice, saying that "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life." This is in fact quite a bold statement and there is much truth in it.

If small things can give us so much pleasure and joy, then what about the greatest thing there is in the universe, God himself? Because through Jesus, we can in fact come before the throne of God and call Him father. That relationships is our conduit, our river of joy.

That's probably Satan's greatest deception! Christianity is not about legalism. It's not about do's and dont's. It's a story of grace and love, it is about the hope of eternal joy. It's about exchanging the temporary pleasures of this world for what satisfies forever. And when this joy in God bubbles up in you, it overflows to other people. This is what love really is. It is not a willpower religion. It is a fight for joy. And the fight only begins when we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord, as our Saviour and as the thing we will treasure most above all else. Then the Spirit of God comes and dwells in us, and the fight between the desires of our flesh and the desires of God
take root. But it is a battle that can be won, and will eventually be won, if we look to God for strength to run this race with perseverance. So that at the end of our lives we can say that I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. And then we are reunited in heaven with God.

I know that this doesn't even begin to touch on many of the issues. Such as that that man is by nature evil. Or the contradiction that God needs us which is not true. But there is one message I want to get across. There is a story too good to not be true. And if you've read it, and its knocking at your door, it is a once in a lifetime offer of grace that you don't want to miss. For those who have lost sight of that grace and got caught up in the legalism, the do's and dont's of Christianity, now is the time to turn back in your pursuit of joy in God.

This is not a joyless life. And I can testify to that. So look at all those mirrors that reflect the fact that you're not good enough to go into heaven and say: I know I'm not good enough but I know the One who is more than good enough for me.

The weekend is out

2007-05-06T21:21:00.000+08:00

The weekend is coming to an end.

I could also say the week is coming to an end, i.e. it is the end of the week, therefore it is the end of the weekend.

Then we have the people who will argue that Sunday is the first day of the week, although that is indeed what our calendars try to impress upon us - as you can see, it starts with a red S, not a M.

Mmm. Ramble time over.

It was a nice weekend. Youth group at church watched Luther. That was a pretty interesting movie. Just wondered whether the real Luther was as eloquent in his speech as he was in his writing. But the movie was quite inspirational in a sense. One of the modern heroes of the faith.

Wanted to watch Spiderman 3, but the queues are horrible. Which remind me of a newspaper article where kids were crying because they couldn't watch the movie as they couldn't get tickets. Moral of the story: reserve in advance.

I've always liked the weekends. Being with my church family and all is very refreshing, when you are among like minded people, pursuing the same passions.

And speaking of that, school is over in two weeks. Maybe I'll come to miss the weekdays too.

Book I'm currently reading: When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. A must read. After reading the book before that: Desiring God. Both are by John Piper. I blame/thank Matt for his influence in this regard.

I'm not quite in the frame of mind (nor do i have the time) for a philosophical post. So I think I'll go to bed now. Currently trying to get into the habit of waking up early. Devotion times in the morning are highly recommended but I'm always just too tired - I'm the kind of person who falls into the category of "I can stay up but I can't wake up".

As for summer plans - yep I'm already thinking about summer - there are a few things on my agenda. After Kinabalu - the weeks before that will be spent getting into a bit of shape and finishing my driving - I'm planning to do something constructive. Not sure what that will be yet. Maybe learn a skill in who knows what. I also have to wrap up a few unfinished things, such as certain videos for those of you who kinda know what I'm referring to. And then who knows from there? Would also be a good time to read all the books on that recommended list for Cambridge. Bleargh. Quite an exhaustive list. Lol. Hope they're interesting.

I've finished the Command and Conquer 3 campaign. Pretty enjoyable game. Although it's distracted me from my studies. I highly recommend it, although it must be said I'm at heart a C&C fan. I'm also pretty thankful that the football season wraps up on May 19th, before the exams, so that's one less distraction - although i was looking forward to proving the Ellis Football-ExamGrades correlation wrong.

And finally, to wrap up my ramble. I know i did say end of ramble at the start, but how was i to anticipate that this post would end up with more ramble. And since we're on the subject of anticipation, I'm looking forward to Remedy. Hahaha. Should be a fantastic album.

What is your temperament?

2007-05-02T22:35:00.000+08:00

I spent the last three days at my church camp. Which means one thing: I didn't get any work done. Bleargh.

Anyways, a brief overview of what we did. We had lots of fun and really interesting main sessions and workshops. One of them was about identifying your temperament - which for the sake of time had apparently been shortened considerably.

So the temperaments are described as the fundamental determinants of who we are - our actions, our personality, our motivations, e.t.c. And we have roughly 4 temperaments. To keep this short, I'll summarise what they were: the first is the 'sanguine' or 'happy-go-lucky' person who tends to enjoy life and is generally the life of the party, making friends easily and generally plunges headfirst into everything. The second is the 'choleric', who is brilliant in leading others and solving problems, matching intuition with ability to almost always make the correct decision. The third is the 'melancholic' or 'serious and sensitive' type, the latter which more or less sums up what he's like. This type of person tend to be more intelligent and excels in many vocations, with a tendency to desire perfectionism. The fourth is the 'phlegmatic', who is the 'cool and steady' person, taking life at a slow and steady pace. This person is often the quiet, reserved person who observes everything, analysing and evaluating everything at his own pace. And thus he makes a good listener, and often a good giver of advice when asked.

Of course all these 4 temperaments have their downside. These are logically deriviated. For example, the sanguine person tends to be restless and unable to stick to a single task, always wanting to jump from thing to thing in search of fun. The choleric always tends to be right, and is driven to maintain his 'rightness', thus often trampling on those who get in his way, adopting a sense of superiority and never willing to experience defeat in anything. The melancholic who takes life too seriously ends up being all bottled up and self centered and worrying too much about things. This person would also be called 'emo'. Lol. And the phlegmatic tends to border on being sluggish and lazy, wasting much time, and in his relationships tends to be stubborn, not willing to listen to advice.

So anyways, there I was looking at the bunch of characteristics. For the sake of length, I have in fact shortened the list of attributes that might help to determine the make up of your temperament. And I was wondering what my temperament was - by the way, there are two: one is your primary and one is your secondary. Haha. For those of you who know me, I'm definitely a choleric. Mr. I'm-always-right, I can do everything myself and no problem is too big that I can't solve it. What I'm trying to figure out is what my other temperament is. Am I melancholic or phlegmatic? I have the strengths of a melancholic but none of its weaknesses, yet I also have SOME of the strengths AND half of the weaknesses. As I see it, the balance is finely poised. In short, I'm both slow and steady in my ways and also serious and sensitive, when I'm not my choleric, overpowering self. Mmm. The vote seems to be swinging heavily towards melancholic.

But how about you help me decide?

I will see about posting a more comprehensive list.

Disenchantment - An evaluation of my spiritual condition

2007-04-22T20:17:00.000+08:00

That pretty much sums up how I've been feeling lately. Well I'm pretty sure I got the word right - as in nothing fascinates you any more.

And it's a horrible feeling.

What are the things I'm disenchanted with?

1) School
2) Hours after school

Haha. Yeah...things are boring me out. I mean there's quite a bit of work to be getting on with but I just find no gain in the things I do. There's no excitement and every day is lived in so much routine.

The human soul was created to be fascinated. And I think as bleak as this period of my life is, it has taught me at least one thing - this life can only satisfy so much, then it gets boring.

Of course the problem comes when you try to go to God to get satisfied, and you don't seem to get anything out of it. If the first thing was horrible, I think this borders on suicidal.

Lol. Umm. I am not suicidal btw. Just a choice of words - quite apt in a certain sense, for those who know what I mean.

But yeah, I think everyone has dark periods in their life like these. My last one was quite a long time back, about two years back, when my life felt quite aimless.

This time round though, I've learnt one thing. Its moments like these, when the darkness seems oppressive, stifling, suffocating the joy out of life, its moments like these when God's light shines brightest. It's just a matter of waiting for the light to come - because it will. God is the everlasting God. Even in the darkness He reigns. And He will place a limit on what we have to endure and lift us up when our time of testing is finished.

For those who have believed, John Piper calls us to fight for joy like a justified sinner. We often take for granted the power of the cross of Christ. I'm doing injustice to a great book (When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy by John Piper) which I think is a great book for those who just feel stuck and stagnant in their relationship with God, but to summarise the key bit to this concept, the idea is that the fight for joy is a fight to see the glory of God - because Piper argues that the Bible preaches the idea that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" and our satisfaction only comes when we see God for who He really is, i.e. glorious. And the glory of God is most tangible in the cross of Christ.

Paul says it himself when he says "Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal 6:14)". Our primary source of power is found there. Because there we see God in His full glory - the merciful and compassionate God who loved us so much that He died to take away our sins, something we could not do ourselves. The story of the cross, the story of redemption is the full display of the glory of God. And thus it is there that we are most satisfied. God gives us little glimpses of His glory in our daily lives, but none compares to the fact of Christ crucified and risen.

It's like this David Crowder song, Heaven Came Down:
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul/When at the cross my Savior made me whole/My sins were washed away/And my night was turned to day/When heaven came down and glory filled my soul/O what a wonderful wonderful day/Day I will never forget/When I was wandering in darkness away/Jesus my Savior I met/O what a tender compassionate Friend/He met the need of my heart/Shadows dispelling with joy I am telling/He made all the darkness depart/O what a wonderful wonderful day/And O what a glorious glorious day/The day you came, came to save me/O what a wonderful wonderful day/The day you came and you saved me

And Piper acknowledges that the fight for joy exists. Christianity doesn't promise instant gratification. There are moments of darkness. And the biblical writers had their moments. But Piper encourages us to fight with what he calls ' gutsy guilt'. In Micah 7 : 8-9, (Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.), Micah acknowledges that moments of darkness exist. Because we are truly sinners and we deserve to bear the indignation/anger of God.

But here's the amazing truth here. For those of us who have believed and have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, we do not face the wrath of an angry judge but the discipline of a loving father. And so while we bear the indignation of God, we have to but wait a little longer, when God will lift His darkness and restore our joy. And this joy is all the more sweeter. It's like how an ice-cream tastes much better after baking in the sun all day rather than having spent the day in a freezing room. The contrast emphasises it.

And Piper calls this manner of fight for joy the way of gutsy guilt. Because while we acknowledge that we're guilty, when the enemy (for most of us this would be the devil) rubs it in our faces, we can stand up and say that God will be my light. He is for me. He will not forsake me. Because of what He had first done for us at the cross. Moreover, God will execute judgment for us - now the tables are turned on our enemy.

Piper contrasts this with 'cheap grace', which I would succinctly described as a "all will be good and happy. If things are going bad, then you do not have faith" sort of doctrine. The fact is that we have really fallen short of God's standards. There is real judgment for what we have done. There is a darkness we have to face. But because of the cross, in what was once a dark world, we have a hope - the promise of the light of God. This light may sometimes seem dim, but it's always there and in our greatest moment of darkness, if we can seize hold of the power of the cross and the fact that we have already been made righteous, we can endure until God chooses to lift the oppressiveness of the darkness.

Haha. I have to say that was pretty heavy doctrine there. But the darkness is real. It suffocates and stifles our joy. The fact is the Christian life is not all prosperous and comfortable. But there is joy. An eternal joy. Because in the darkness, when life seems to go nowhere, we can lay hold to the power of the cross - that Jesus has redeemed us - and that will be enough for us, until God lifts the darkness and a greater joy descends upon us.

And for those who don't believe, the offer of joy is still free and available for all those who choose to believe. Because I can tell you that night is here, but morning will come for those who hold fast to the joy that is found in the power of the cross. And then this life wont seem so bad, because we have a light to lead us through the darkness, to heaven where we will be forever satisfied in the presence of our great and glorious God.

Lol. In fact I'm feeling a little bit happier now. Haha. I think it helped to get this off my chest into the open.

When Silence Falls

2007-04-17T16:29:00.000+08:00

This may comes across as a depressing post for some of you. But I just feel some things have to be said...

Some things just shock you to your very core.

Like the Virginia Tech shooting. 33 lives gone. Just like that.

Living in Malaysia, I am pretty grateful, that despite all the fallacies of this country, it is a safe place by comparison.

But things like these just feel so inexplainable. It reminds me of the year before, when one of the guys in my year died just like that after being stabbed.

You feel indignation, anger, a need for justice, a need to right wrongs, especially when it becomes personal.

To many death is the ultimate foe. It is unbeatable. The sting unbearable.

But why do I feel so shock when 33 people die, and when all over the world 0.86% of the population dies every year, which works out to roughly 1.8 persons dying a second or 156773 people dying a day, I hardly blink an eye?

Is it because it was 'before their time'? That they had their whole lives ahead of them? That it was unfair for them to die because they did not deserve it?

The fact remains that people die, eventually. Immortality on this earth is a sham. Medicine might prolong our lives. But then we die.

And it is this very fact that should lead you to ask the very question: To what end am I living this life? What happens after I die? Am I living life to the fullest here?

Questions like these beg more than simple answers.

Because until you find these answers, life is but a fleeting thought, a vapor in the wind, a flower that blooms then shrivels and dies.

And that kind of life is not worth living.

For all those just trying to get through the next few hours, for those finding answers, for those looking for hope, for those in pain and sorrow, for those in the darkest night of their life, for those who can no longer find words to express yourself, when silence falls it is then you hear the whisper of God. If you would but listen. If you would but ask God for eyes to see the truth.

The truth is that while the world seems to be heading for ruin, God is still God, through it all. And when all around is fading, when nothing seems to last, we still have hope in a Saviour who has rescued us from the sting of death. And in Him, we find strength to live every hour of our life. And while rescue is present in every moment of our life, when we need Him to pull us out of the darkness of the pit we find ourselves in, there is a greater rescue that is coming. When He comes to bring us back to Him. The victory has been won but just wait a little longer.

That is the story of Easter.

Thirty three (33)

2007-04-15T21:58:00.000+08:00

For some reason, my printer screen is in German. Well, at least I think it's German. Mmm. Still trying to discover where the language settings are.

Anyways, 33 is the number of days to go before school is finished.

Officially.

Although there are exams.

But it's school that I dislike.

The many things I dislike about school include: the really tedious homework, the early hours, the sometimes boring lessons which are of no benefit, lousy canteen food that is the main cause of my malnutrition - you're better off starving in this respect

The many more things I like about school: accounting classes - I am one big distraction, further math classes - another distraction, people in school, the times when I'm not feeling sleepy

But overall the hours and the boredom kind of tip the scale in favour of me disliking school.

Anyways enough of my school gripe.

I currently have no interesting thoughts of the day. Kinda. I do have this thought i came up with but it slipped my mind. Also, I'm currently wondering how I (and am pretty sure other people do this as well) seem to waste the hours away in front of the computer doing nothing and mucking around. It's seriously unproductive and yet time just flies when you're doing nothing.

It's a mystery. Attempting to figure out how the time is actually used.

Sleepless in KL

2007-04-14T23:46:00.000+08:00

*warning* the following post may contain graphic descriptions. Reader discretion is adviced. *warning*

Phlegm.

The very word just sounds really phlegmy.

Haha. The wonders of the English language.

I've spent the second week of the Easter break pretty sick, for the first three days. And then there comes all that lingering phlegm. Which just wakes you up at night so you can sip some water and clear your respiratory channels because the phlegm moves up into your nose. After all phlegm, mucus, nose boogies are all the same thing, just in different parts of the body and all that technical stuff. So anyways when morning comes, there are a bunch of tissues with green semi-solid substances in it, which have migrated from my throat up my nose down onto the tissue. And it's a pretty distracting migration.

So yeah the previous night are kind of sleepless because I end up waking up a lot. I think this is really slowing down my recovery as a result.

Ahh well....

On another note, because I tend to like my posts to be more educational, I'll talk on a subject close to my heart.

I mean that pretty literally, since it's in fact right next to me.

Haha.

Computer games.

Now, I'll place myself in the category of a person that loves the following type of game: all Command and Conquer games (I have to get myself the third one soon - looks sooooo good, but i digress); building games, because at heart I love planning and building stuff and seeing the money roll in and things grow etc etc; role playing games although lately there's been a dearth of ones i like. I kinda hate the long convoluted adventures where you get lost without a walkthrough and requires so much walking in jungles and dungeons and stuff. Give me a quick story to blast through. Best RPG I've ever played? An oldie, the Fallout series. Although apparently Fallout 3 is in the works, under the production of the creators of ElderScrolls - should be good. Then there are the odd game or two i enjoy once in a while, like Civilisation IV, and other real time strategy games like warhammer and thing like that. Oh and don't forget the FIFA series, which I'm pretty good at albeit a bit rusty.

And I didn't forget first person shooters, because i personally dislike them. They're nice to play multiplayer. But I just don't like the gameplay. It's way too brainless. Puzzles are just there as eye candy for whatever new physics engine they've created. Most of you will disagree. I will agree to disagree.

But anyways, here's the game that bothers me.

Grand Theft Auto.

Mmm. One of the first games to make the leap from 2D to 3D. I have to say when GTA3 was released, I went ooh-ahh over the whole gameplay, which was just really cool.

Then of course the series starts evolving. GTA3 was clean. Very clean. Especially when compared to GTA: San Andreas. Now that last one, I hated. All the vulgarity, the blatant criminality.

Wait a minute, that's what GTA is at heart - a game where you are a criminal. (Getting into a police car and playing vigilante still makes you a criminal, which explains why the police are always after Batman in that whole universe, which is pretty ironic considering that without Batman, they're a pretty impotent force)

So anyways people who read the news, even just gaming news will know that (eventhough this is old news), that GTA has sparked a whole bunch of controversy. Issues like: does the game glorify violence and sex and all that? etc. And in turn what effect is it having on the kids of this generation? Mmmm. Very deep questions.

I have to say that computer games are my one weakness. I easily succumb to addiction, if the game is really good. (dumb command and conquer and city building game developers) Anyways the point which I'm trying to consider is this:

I know these kind of games are bad, especially games like GTA. But at the same time the gameplay's just so engrossing. But here's how I quit that series for good.

When I was playing the vice city version (which wasn't that derogatory yet), my then 7 year old cousin comes over and I'm driving this really fast car speeding down the highway and my cousin LOVES racing games. So I thought, ahh this game is pretty harmless, let him get in the car, let me turn on the invulnerability cheat and let him crash and bang and drive all he wants.

Now fast forward one year later, and San Andreas gets released. The covers look virtually similar to a kid that young. San Andreas is definitely deserving of its mature rating, although it pushes me to question whether having to resort to use of much vulgarity and other indecencies is actually a mature thing to start with - it's more of an immature maturity (a phrase which makes no sense).

SO anyways he pesters me to want to play it, and I think the elements in this game are just so horrible, I hide the game and blatantly lie to his face that I forgot to delete the shortcut on the desktop. (I uninstalled the game later that day)

Because we should never expose kids to this sort of thing.

Sure people say it's the real world. Stop protecting them

Well, here's the newsflash, it's actually not the real world. It's a MTV culture. There was a news article that day, with the owner of MTV saying they control the teenagers of this generation. The only reason why the culture is the way it is today is because people say that's how it has always been, when in the first place it has never always been like this, but because of ignorant persistence we assume the culture is as such, i.e. culture is what culture says.

Haha. That's a chunky statement to digest but the moral of the story is this.

Make a stand. Let's chuck out all the undesirable elements and transform the deteriorating morality of today's culture. Because culture is what culture says, say something different.

Say something morally right.

(This post is long enough already. So I have to refrain from delving into the spiritual elements of such an issue. And of course the whole issue could span pages and pages. So I've just written what's on my mind and quickly jump from intro to conclusion. The processing bits have to be left out.)

The wait is over

2007-04-12T19:06:00.000+08:00

Ahh.

So what has happened in the past 2 months and quite a bit?

Well. Firstly, I have to say I was busy. My half completed post is lying somewhere in the deep recesses of another person's hard drive, which I used as borrowed storage space when I had to format this computer.

And it all started when my internet connection failed.

OK. So it was either a hardware or software problem.

Well, I can't be bothered to post the whole process up but the conclusion was that it was BOTH a software and hardware problem.

So I had to format this computer, and then I went out to buy a wireless USB adapter.

And there we are. I'm back.

What's happening in my life?

For those of you who know I'm a huge David Crowder Band fan (although I don't quite like the use of the word 'fan', it's more of an affinity for their work. I don't go crazy over them.), they are recording their new album, as of 3 weeks in the making. If you go to this site, you can catch them recording their new album, Remedy. Pretty neat the webcams and the clip of the days and all.

Easter is over. It was a really busy week, editing videos and all. And then I spent the earlier part of this week pretty sick.

And finally, I'm 18!

Haha. I just had to say that. Ah well.

Next post will be up soon. I hope. Haha. Again it depends on the teachers at school. I'm half tempted to just miss every single lesson except history, since my As in those subject are no longer going to be dependent on lesson attendance.

The Philosophy of Weng: Fiction or Truth, Coming Soon

2007-01-29T20:21:00.000+08:00

I have released the title of my next post.

Here I shall attempt to briefly explain the reason why I believe the Bible is without a doubt the word of God, the one and only truth. That it is not mere fiction or a collection of stories and sayings as the world falsely claims, but it is the living Word, with the power to transform lives, not because it preaches good philosophies to live by, but because it essentially condemns the sinfulness of man, the futility of trying to live a good life, and points to the one and only way, the one and only truth, the one and only life, that through Jesus Christ, that by His power in us, He not only forgives us of our past wrongs, but gives us power to live the present by His holy standards, and assurance of a future with Him in heaven.

This will be updated shortly. It's still currently being word processed. I don't want to make this overly shoddy yet I know it will be impossible to put forth every single argument, because I might as well attempt to write a book at that point, which I know will be an impossible task, what with the immense research and planning needed.

Instead, to a satisfying standard, I wish to highlight why I have such faith in the Bible, briefly explaining the evidence that has convinced me as such. And beyond the physical realm, I also wish to point out the supernatural power of the Bible, not like that of the movies where you show it to an evil spirit and it forces it to flee, but the power to take man from his depravity into the divinity of the Godhead. To live for what he was really created for.

I realise there might be many terms I use that are unfamiliar, as I seem to use a lot of Christian lingo here. But I'll do my utter best to couch it in terms that are familiar and explain that which is unfamiliar.

Be warned. This post is not one you should merely dismiss. And I'm dead serious on this. Because yet again I will reiterate this line: If you really believe that what you believe is really real, then you will indeed live by that belief no matter what..

And I really believe that my belief "that the Bible is the truth of God, the living Word", is really real, and as such I strive to live by it daily.

The Philosophy of Weng: The Basic Question

2007-01-24T21:38:00.000+08:00

Firstly, the truest definition of philosophy, in my opinion:

Philosophy is "a scientific quest to discover ultimate reality".

The next question is of course: What is this 'ultimate reality'?

That's would be a hard question, unless we believe one thing. That reality is defined by what is true. And logically, ultimate reality will be defined by what is ultimate truth.

Now that's an interesting statement to wrap one's head around, isn't it?

Think about it for a minute. Does truth define reality? That what is really really real, and not an illusion disguised as reality, also truly truly true?

Assuming that you agree with that statement, and we equate truth with reality, then what do we equate truth with?

At this point, some of you may have recalled me writing a post about this sometime back. I'll post the link here, because there are many ideas there that will be reiterated and referred to, which I'll incorporate into this series of posts

What ought to be and what is

Take the time to read the above post. There are two things which I wish to emphasise. The first is of course the issue of "What is truth?", the answer to which is God Himself, as testified in the Bible. The second is the issue of how this view of truth has been distorted by the many worldly lies, the biggest one of which is that there is no God or that He is irrelevant, and as such has led to such a divergence of morality and ethics, that the world today is become ever more fallen in sin.

Now, following from that there will be several things which I'll have to try to address. The first is the authority of the Bible. As much of my argument will be taken from there, I will have to prove that the Bible is indeed the infallible Word of God. And trust me, I will.

The second is this notion of sin, which ties in to the larger topic of man, and his purpose in this world.

And I'll end with the basic question:

What is the purpose of life?

It is this basic question that I will start off with, and attempt to come back to in my conclusion. In the meantime continue to tell me what you would like to know about. And I will like to give credit to where credit is due.

A majority of the worldview I now possess I credit to The Truth Project, a DVD series regarding the biblical worldview, which has transformed the way I perceived life in general. In addition, I would also like to credit several books which I have read, and am reading along the way, the specific authors and titles of which I will mention as I bring up points in this series.

Finally, all of the credit ultimately goes to God and the transformational power of not only His word, but His very nature, who has given me whatever wisdom I possess in attempting to tackle all these issues.

What would you like to know?

2007-01-23T17:45:00.000+08:00

I've been thinking about the direction of my series of posts.

Then I thought, is there anything in particular someone would like to know about?

Feel free to post your comments under here. If there are no comments, then I'll just press ahead with whatever plan I come up with.

The Philosophy of Weng

2007-01-22T20:06:00.000+08:00

I'm back after a long hiatus. And I think I'm ready to embark on another series of posts.

This time, it's going to be about "The Philosophy of Weng".

So I thought, what better way to introduce this series than defining it? *surprise surprise*

There are many definitions of philosophy, but let me start by going back to the root word.

Philosophy is Greek in origin, coming from the two part of 'phil' meaning love and 'sophy' meaning wisdom. Thus combined it means love of wisdom. I'll leave it there at the moment.

Below are the definitions of philosophy, as I got them by typing in "dict philosophy" into my Firefox address bar.

Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Hume.
The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
The disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.
The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising.
A system of values by which one lives: has an unusual philosophy of life.

All the above definitions have merit, and I'll come back often to visit them. Because our philosophy, whether we define it as such or not, is really our system of belief, and if you really believe that what you believe is really real, then well you're going to live it!

In my series, I will be doing numbers 2 and 4. With ONE exception. I will also investigate using empirical methods, which means that I WILL (attempt to) provide evidence.

Haha. So that's the introduction. I have yet to outline the direction of my series. So give me a few days, roughly two or three, to get that sorted, then check back here.

In the meantime I'll end with this passage from the Bible:

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ"

Colossians 2:8

And yes, for those of you who are a bit uncertain at this point, this WILL be a Christian worldview. After all, it's the philosophy of Weng.

Lol.

Joy indeed

2007-01-12T15:58:00.000+08:00

Well.

Informally accepted into Cambridge.

Woohoo.

2007 has started very well for me. And for that I'm extremely thankful.

Thankful for the mercies and blessings of God.

And well. Haha. That's all I can post right now. Cos right now, the joy of getting accepted is occupying whatever space that is left in my brain.

Passion: The wrap up

2007-01-11T17:49:00.000+08:00

Almost. Not quite.

Anyways, here's what transpired in the longest journey back home.

For the sake of uniformity, I'll use the time at the venue at which I'm writing about. But I'll place Malaysian time in brackets.

Anyways, we were meant to leave Atlanta at Sunday 9.45pm (Monday 10.45am). Check-in took pretty long, what with the people admiring some colleagues engagement ring. Bleargh. Talk about inefficiency.

But the flight got delayed one hour, because of bad weather delaying the arrival of our pilots from Tampa. Not a good sign, given that we had two hours to catch a connecting flight, two hours now reduced to one hour, an hour within which to get our boarding passes.

Ahh. So we reach Vegas at Sunday 11.50 pm (Monday 2.50pm) and we have one hour to get to the next plane. They knew we arrived. And they didn't hold the dumb plane. So we missed it. Especially with inefficiently designed American airports and what not with their terminals scattered all over the place. Spent the night at Vegas. And managed to reschedule, to fly to, of all places, eastward towards New York, before catching a connecting flight to Seoul. Urgh.

So we left Monday 12.50pm (Tuesday 3.50am) and arrived at New York Monday 8.30pm (Tuesday 9.30am) Great. Wait 4 hours and board flight Tuesday 12.50am (Tuesday 1.50pm). Then fly 15 hours to Seoul. Thankfully this journey wasn't that long, considering I slept solidly for the first 8/9 hours of the plane ride.

So we get into Seoul at Wednesday 5.50am (Wednesday 4.50 am). Next flight was meant to be at Wednesday 4.50pm out of Seoul to Kuala Lumpur. But we managed to locate our luggage, which was going out on an earlier MAS flight. Brilliant. So we managed to persuade Delta to waive our penalty charge and get a seat on that plane to KL, leaving 11.50am. We got the tickets at 10.45am, and dashed for the gate. Lol.

And so we finally arrived back in KL at Wednesday 7.30pm, after stopping for an hour in Kota Kinabalu.

Boy. What a journey. 60 hours without a shower, without proper rest and without a proper meal. It is not fun to be stranded. What was meant to be a 36 hour journey, arriving home on Tuesday, at 2220, was delayed one day (well almost). *shudder*

Anyways, the stream is up on the passion site again at www.268generation.com for those who
want to view what it was like. It's up until Friday midnight. Lol. Only found out today. Ahh well. It's American time anyways I assume.

And as for the wrap up. It has been an amazing trip.

Yep.

Were you expecting some long summary?

Too tired to do that. Haha. There was just so much, you can only describe it as amazing.

Period.

Haha. I think my brains have partly turned to mush. Hopefully my school knowledge is still there somewhere. Lol.

Will be back in school tomorrow, after an extended holiday of nearly a week, taking my Christmas break to a month. Schoolwork should not be much of a problem

And it appears my Cambridge letter has arrived. Well, is meant to have arrived. I haven't got it yet. Eagerly waiting for that.

Until then, I shall be getting off this computer.

Passion: Chapter Six - Farewell America

2007-01-08T06:06:00.000+08:00

Ahh. After 12 days in the US, we're finally leaving for Malaysia.

It's been a great 3 days. A family here took us in and they've been fantastic with the rooms and the food. Lol. Although I'll probably be happy to get back to some Malaysian food as well.

Anyways, my flight is at 2145 on the -4GMT time zone although with daylight savings in place it's -5GMT. I'll be reaching back on Tuesday at 2220, I think, Malaysian time.

Looking back at the trip, I thank God for His countless blessings. So much so that I've only spent my money on small meals and lots of CDs and books. LOTS of CDs and books. Lol. I think it was 82USD on CDs and 80USD on books. Ah well. Oh ya. And a T-shirt or two. Forgot about that.

Well. Next time I post should be back in KL. I'll be missing the first three days of my term, so fun fun fun. Haha.

That's all. But with me you know there's always another post just waiting round the corner.

Passion: Chapter Five - The Real Thing

2007-01-05T12:03:00.000+08:00

Well. Passion is over. But it was nothing short of life changing for me.

I won't be able to post this from where I am so I'll have to wait till I get back before the full post can be scripted.

But in the meantime, did you know you can watch the main session being streamed live on the passion website?

Go to www.268generation.com and look for the link that brings you to the live stream. I'm not sure how much longer they will be up for as it is only temporary. But do enjoy them because I certainly did. And also, a bit of background.

Because of the fact that 24000 college students turned up, they had to rent another venue. Therefore the main session were jointly held in both the Phillips Arena and the Georgia World Convention Center Arena. The stream is that of what you see on the projection-like screens in the main venue.

I'll give full details of the conference as soon as I get back to Malaysia. The scale of it is just so immense that it's impossible to describe in a few short paragraphs. But the spirit of God was truly working among the 24000. You can check for updates at the passion site to be honest, but I'll post them up here soon enough.

Passion: Chapter Four - Goodbye Orlando

2007-01-01T10:13:00.000+08:00

Well, it's Day Four. Went to Disney yesterday and realised what a novelty it was to cut to the front of every queue in Universal. Ah well. Anyways went on a few rides, namely splash mountain and space mountain for those who have been there before. Quite nice but not as great as the Universal rides.

Stayed over at Sean's place instead at night, cos Matt's grandma - well their whole family are out for a relative's wedding over New Year's Eve. Before that we went to another of matt's friends, Tom's place for dinner.

I think I've gained a few kilos here in America. blearghh.

Got back to Sean's place pretty late, eleven-ish. We enter the house and there's an American football party going on. Anyways something pretty comical happened, cutting short their party. As to not disclose any names, person A was browsing through the channels, while the football game was being recorded on Tivo. Now the thing about Tivo, for those who do not know, is that Tivo records and allows pausing and playing only as long as the channel is in use. Anyways person A accidentally clicks OK and switches the channel. The biggest party crash I've seen in a long long time.

Woke up today at 6. We went to some breakfast joint to get some American breakfast. Bleargh. Starting to feel really unhealthy. Anyways we left to go to Matt's church, which is pretty awesomely huge. HUGE. Met quite a few of his friends - was interesting to meet certain people. Saw one of his friends get baptised here. It was quite an experience, the service being different from the ones back home.

We then left for SeaWorld. The shows there are simply awesome. Saw the famous Shamu show, which was pretty breathtaking, saw one with two sealions performing and another musical with dolphins. The animals are trained to do pretty crazy and unbelievable stunts with their trainers. We also sat on another rollercoaster, namely the Kraken. Now for those of you who have been to Orlando and seen the Incredible Hulk in Islands of Adventure, this is just as awesome and even bigger in some places. It has the biggest drop to date on any rollercoaster I have ridden. Pretty crazy stuff.

Of course let's take this time to remember the rollercoaster incident back home. Malaysian rollercoaster quality seems quite shoddy at this time.

But yeah that makes it my sixth, I think, rollercoaster in 3 days. I think I must be getting quite accustomed to them, cos each one seems less terrifying than the previous. Of course, I'm getting pretty jetlagged as well, so it could be that I'm just way too tired. I find the latter more likely.

Anyways I'll be getting to bed now. First new year's I'll miss in a long time. But then I have to be up at 4am tmr. The bus leaves at 5.30 am sharp for Atlanta. So I need my sleep, real bad.

Passion: Chapter Three - Day 3

2006-12-30T22:42:00.000+08:00

Well, we went to Universal yesterday.

Had a great time there on all the rides, especially the rollercoasters. Although Matt got sick and threw up by the time night came along, after Shrek. Lol.

And it was great considering we could cut to the front of the queue - can't say why. So there was really no waiting time and we managed to ride all the rides in one day.

Anyways, we're heading out to Disney today. No such luck with the tickets so we're going to have to get stuck in the long queues, especially being a Saturday today, it's going to be longgggg...

Passion: Chapter Two - Orlando, Florida

2006-12-29T23:27:00.000+08:00

Well. I've finally reached.

Yesterday actually.

But I just found the time to post today.

Anyways, after leaving Korea, we sat on an 11-hour flight. And as part of my plan to escape jet-lag, I stayed awake watching several movies. I think I watched something like 5 movies.

Then we reached LA. And the immigration queue was long. Longgggggggggggggggggggggggg.

We had two hours to catch a connecting flight. We escaped immigration after an hour. We took an extra 15 minutes to get through customs. And then a long run to the Delta terminal to catch our connecting flight. Problem was the flight had closed off because we had arrived after 45 minutes before the flight. So we could not get our boarding passes. But we had checked in our luggage. SO it was on its way to orlando without us.

Bleargh. Next flight - 10.44 pm.

Current time - 10.44 am

Yep. 12 hour wait at LAX. The longest time of my life. Cushions weren't even fit to sleep on, unlike korea. So it was torture.

But eventually the 12 hours were up and we got on our domestic flight to orlando.

Then I broke yet another record. Sitting in the longest taxi ever. I had no watch but I think it was 45 minutes or something.

Yet we did eventually reach Orlando to much relief. Got picked up from the airport - we didn't have to wait for our luggage seeing it was already in storage having arrived 12 hours earlier.

And thus we arrived at Matt's grandma's place, with breakfast ready. Had quite a meal before leaving to go round town on a drive. Went around to see a short insight into his life here in America. Had a great lunch at a BBQ joint. And then we went fishing. Well actually Matt and his friends went fishing - me and Tim stood around watching and dozing off slightly. Got quite a good dose of the outdoors.

Got back to his grandma's place for dinner with his extended family and then I conked out early, at 8.30 i think.

Woke up this morning at 7. Just had breakfast and now we're planning the rest of the day.

That's all from me.

Passion: Chapter One - Live from Korea

2006-12-27T11:47:00.000+08:00

Ok. the shift key is a bit messed up here. so i'm going to have to type in small letters.

anyways, reached korea 5 hours ago. slept at the gate for about 3 hours. and just had lunch.

had quite an adventure checking in at klia though.

i didn't bring my middle passport and they couldn't trace my childhood visa to my current passport. so my bro had to speed home and back in order to bring it to me.

lol

anyways, my flight is leaving in 2 hours. and i have 22 minutes left on my internet connection here.

i don't think i have anything more to say

will post when i reach orlando

next stop: LA.

let's hope immigration doesn't cause us any trouble there

Christmas: A Tale of Hope, Part I

2006-12-16T18:24:00.000+08:00

In the Christian calendar, we have two very special dates. One is Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus, and the other is Easter Sunday, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Of course we do have Good Friday, where we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. But generally, I mean two significant periods, one detailing the death and resurrection, and the other the birth of Jesus.

It's been 2000+ years since the first Christmas. If we take the birth year of Jesus to be roughly 6/5 B.C, then it has been 2012/2011 years.

And in that time, the embodiment of Christmas has undergone a radical transformation.

But first, the historical origins of Christmas. I did some brief research regarding this issue. And I got quite a bit of interesting material. For those who have read the Da Vinci Code, or was it Angels and Demons? - can't quite remember, there's a mention there regarding Christmas originating from a pagan festival, and how early Christianity incorporated early culture, and all that nonsense, which then spins a web of lies about how Christianity is nothing more than a myth, blah blah blah.

Well. I have not been able to ascertain whether that is true. But most historians seem to agree that while the year of the birth of Jesus has been roughly pinpointed, the actual date of Jesus' birth was not discussed until the fourth century. Some believe he was born in the spring, some in late summer/early autumn, some Jewish Christians claim it is March 25, 33 years to the date he died, and so on so forth.

But when it comes down to it, whether Christmas is really the accurate date of birth of Jesus or not, it is a symbolic event of the birth of Jesus. In other words, it sets aside a date, a period, where we can gather to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour 2000 years ago. After all, while we might debate about the actual dates, or the controversial origins of Christmas, there is no grounds to doubt that at some point in our history, God became man and dwelled with us.

Emmanuel. God with us.

Today, the world, through crass commercialisation, has distorted the true meaning of Christmas. It's about presents. If you're nice, Santa will give you what you want. If you're naughty, Santa will send his evil sidekick to scare you/or give you coal - depends which side of the story you lie. Of course, we have those feel good movies, that Christmas is a time for the family to build stronger and deeper relationships, a value which I wholly endorse, but this good intent has shrouded the true meaning of Christmas. And for some, Christmas is just yet another holiday.

It's a sad sad fact, that something as beautiful as this point in time, when God fulfilled His promise of sending His people a messiah who would deliver them, has been warped by worldly influences. Even the meaningful Christmas carols such as Joy to the World, or Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, have been reduced to mere Christmas jingles. So much so that it has lost much of its original meaning and significance.

The focus of Christmas is Jesus, Greek for "The Lord saves". It is a new beginning.

I think I'll conclude this first part with this quote:

"The beginning is the end is the beginning".

Lol. That confounded me when I read it the first time. Wrap your head around that phrase for a few hours. And that concludes the first part of my weekend post.

A new record

2006-12-14T22:44:00.000+08:00

One post a day seems quite hard to maintain when there are those days you are too tired to think.

Hm. In light of that fact, I'm adopting a new format. I'll post 2 part posts every weekend, and post a minimum of two posts every alternating day. If I'm feeling quite creative then expect the posting to increase.

I expect this new format to be temporary while I regain my full creative powers over Christmas.

As for now, this is it.

My shortest post ever.

The irony of sleeping late

2006-12-13T20:15:00.000+08:00

First of all I have to say it's pretty ironic that this post came around because of my decision to sleep at that time yesterday.

Anyways, it seems that the body is a funny thing.

Anyone who sleeps late and wakes up early the next day would naturally feel tired.

The irony is that, for me, if I sleep late really late, then I don't feel quite so tired the next day. But if I sleep late too early then I'm more or less dead the next morning.

For example, I discovered that sleeping past midnight, while definitely unhealthy, left me pretty much wide awake the next morning in school. In stark contrast, when I decided to go to bed at 11, I was dead tired the next morning.

Of course I logically concluded that perhaps there was another underlying trend. Perhaps my lack of sleep the previous days had caught up with me.

Doubt it. I read somewhere that you can't 'transfer' sleep. But I guess the best reason for this behaviour is that when levels of sleep drop really low, my body compensates by going hyperactive, almost sustaining itself on self-created caffeine. Which is probably bad for my health.

Anyways, after all that rambling, the moral of the story would be to sleep early. After all, I read that not having enough sleep leads to poorer memory functions, obesity, poor attention span, e.t.c.

Blank

2006-12-12T22:00:00.000+08:00

Haha. Feeling a bit tired. So not much going through my head at the moment.

Anyways, this feels a bit superficial, trying to maintain my one post a day with this random mumbo-jumbo.

But let's see what I can sift out of my brain.

Christmas is coming.

And I don't seem to feel the Christmas spirit yet.

I feel so unenthused.

What is the real meaning of Christmas - to me?

Going to have to think about that one. So expect something on that in the next week or so.

Outside of that, I have US applications wandering through my head. Haha. I have to think of how to write an essay as to reveal something about me. Perhaps that's why so much of my blogging creativity is being diverted.

Well enough mumbo jumbo from me. I need my sleep now.

Old and new mechanics, Part II

2006-12-11T19:47:00.000+08:00

As promised.

...

3. Find balance
It's one thing to adopt methods to deal with self-induced stress. It's another thing to handle externally imposed stress.

The most common example of such a source will be your parent.

The obvious solution would be to talk to your parents about any unrealistic expectations they might have for you.

Of course that never always works. So here comes my conceived theory of balancing.

Technically, I have never had any need for it myself because my parents aren't the demanding type. But it should work in theory.

If your parents expectations can't change, then change your lifestyle. If you're doing all the studying your parents expect, yet can't get that unrealistic grade, well, not much they can say.

Haha. Right... Parents aren't as clear cut as that. They always demand more, thinking that their kid should be sitting in front of a book all day. So here comes the act of 'creating a new balance', or really a nicer way to say compromise. Find the activities you really want to do, and promise your parents that in exchange for them giving permission for you to do those things, you will promise to spend your time doing whatever they want you to do.

But again, not very exhaustive. There are so many different circumstances, that one method can't tackle it all.

However, I think it's important to note how externally-imposed stress can fuel self-induced stress. For example, while your parents will demand highly of you, you won't necessarily get stressed out by that, because if you simply can't meet their demands but do your very best, then there's nothing to get stressed out about. The problem arises when the expectations of your parents become your expectations, not necessarily expectations of a specific grade but that you feel expected to fulfill their wishes.

Of course again that doesn't necessarily hold true. Sometimes you just need to be patient. I believe that no loving parent would intentionally stress out their kid, it's most likely out of ignorance. And this is no excuse for you to not fulfill your obligation to them either. If you're always out partying or something, then you're to blame.

4. Adopt the vertical approach
After all that blah-blah-ing above, how do I personally handle my life with regard to this? That I just seem to avoid stress totally?

Well, some part of it is due to the fact that I'm smart, which means that I seldom have trouble studying, but then again smart people do get stressed, no?

And thus the vertical approach:

Jesus gives a promise to all who believe in Him: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you". Tied in to that, Paul reassures us that "in all things God works together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose". And the message is just really simple: put God first, and the rest of your life will fall into place. The catch is that what you think might be good for you, is never necessarily that which God knows is definitely best for you. And why settle for good when you can have the best?

And those that put God first tend to seek to excel in all they do. When I use the word excel, I mean to give the best you can in whatever you do. You heard of that adage "God helps those who helps themselves"? That is the biggest lie ever. Well. Not biggest. But it's a lie, portraying a pretty selfish God. The truth is that God helps those who seek His help. And the word seek does not just mean asking for help. Seek is an active word, which implies going out and doing your part, but relying on God for His strength and assistance.

That is the 'secret' to my success thus far. And if I was trying to find a universal method to deal with stress, who better to turn to than that which encompasses all, past, present and future? That even if one day I should fail, He loves me all the same reassures me that life will go on.

Thought I'd post something here I heard the other day.

Total
Reliance +
Unconditional
Surrender =
Torrential Blessings

In God we trust.

That's quite a funny line, deviating from the topic slightly. Some may recognise it, especially Americans. Sadly, they gave that up a long time ago.

Well, that's all from me.

Apologies

2006-12-10T23:06:00.000+08:00

I'm extremely sorry by my inability to complete tonight's post, Part 2 of yesterday's.

This is due to some miscalculation on my part regarding the time I would have.

Anyways, the post will go up tomorrow. No worries.

Then I might enter a slight hiatus, as I step up my progress in my US applications.

But that bit is in the uncertain future anyways.

And it seems that I might be conceding ground in the blogosphere competition arena. Due to the advent of webcam and digital video technology as well as the utilisation of YouTube hosting and distribution mechanics.

In this 'MTV generation', the power of video to conquer is a sad fact.

Don't expect it here anytime soon, being the traditionalist dinosaur blogger that I am. And that I'm not planning to conform to 'populist blog trends'. Until I find a revolutionary way to combine video with my tendency to be 'intellectually-oriented', a nicer way to phrase 'heavy chunks', posts.

Old and new mechanics

2006-12-09T23:24:00.000+08:00

Firstly, new mechanics: I shall split my weekend posts into a part 1 and part 2. To keep the posts shorter. And because I don't have the time to write 2 separate posts. The irony indeed. No time on weekends? Sorry, spent at church.

Lol. As if everyone actually reads my whole thing. Of course, I realise that some people do.

Now, old mechanics. And the thought of the day.

The mechanics of stress.

A-ha. Am I going to come up with the universal answer to stress?

I'm not sure at this point. This post is just going to flow out of my head, so forgive me if the direction of it seems flimsy (or my other posts for that matter).

What is stress? I always seem to start with this classic question - what, for those who are beginning to spot similar patterns in all my posts.

Well, I think I'll try to define this word myself. Stress is the toil, the strain on your body, mind, emotions and soul by an activity that exceeds your current state of being. It's not that you can't push past what you're comfortably capable of, it's just that it comes with 'stress'. It's like a rubber band being pulled in all directions, and as stress sets in, you see the colour thin. Put in enough stress, and it snaps.

So the solution would seem to be: Stick within your capabilities.

Well that's the easy way out.

I always say push yourself. But don't do it to the detriment of everything else. In other words, don't let stress conquer you. Push your limits and conquer that stress.

Now, I am pretty sure I come across as a non-stressed person. Which is true. Cos I don't suffer from stress. I suffer from lack of sleep at times yes, but I don't let it turn into stress. I just transfer sleep time to times I should not be sleeping, like in some classes. And between lessons. Of course, I highly recommend not sleeping in class. I just do it in CERTAIN lessons, when I'm really wasting my time listening to a really useless lesson, which does happen, albeit rarely, i.e. once a week.

So that establishes my credentials to make a comment about this topic.

And here are the ways to deal with stress:

1. Establish the nature of stress
To conquer stress, you must first identify where it originates from. For example, a common factor of stress nowadays is in school, and all the studying. And since most of you reading this are students, well, might as well keep the post relevant in that sense.

Now, identifying the origin of stress is not as simple as saying it's the amount of studying. More likely it is the pressure of expectations, regardless of its origin, usually in the form of achieving a minimum grade, the reality of time constraints enforced by other responsibilities and the common factor uniting stress: worry.

Yep. Don't believe me? Next time you get stressed, tell me how much you worry. Worry about whether you can finish your studying. Worry about the nature of the examination question. Worry about achieving the grade you need. Worry, worry, worry.

Generally, stress manifests in two forms: self-induced stress and externally-imposed stress.

2. Conquer thyself
Let's address the issue of self-induced stress.

Now this will most definitely not be a comprehensive guide to tackling every single possible factor causing stress, but I'll try my utmost best to emphasise principles rather than methodology.

Again, let's go back to the ones mentioned above. Take expectations. Expectations are, well, expected. You just have to live with the reality that there will always be expectations. The way you handle it is to channel those expectations in such a way as to maximise your abilities. Haha.

Sounds profound? Not really. Essentially, with your personal expectations, it's best to be realistic, and instead of studying towards achieving those, study such that you can achieve it. Don't make an A grade the objective of your studying; rather study such that you put yourself in prime position to achieve that grade.

OK. That sounded crap. Let me put it another way. It's not so much the final destination, but the journey that matters. If you put yourself on the right course, you will reach your intended destination. In other words, if you're looking to achieve an A, but you're not studying such that you can do so, you're being unrealistic. But if you are studying such that you can achieve the most out of what you study, then you will get an A provided you have the ability to do so.

And really, I did sidestep the issue, but worry factors into the above point as well. You can worry so much about the intended destination, that you pay no attention to our current journey. In colloquial terms (note the irony of the word colloquial. It really just means informal, conversational, everyday language, yet we never use that word much), you focus so much on the A, that you forget how to get that A.

Expanding on this issue of worry, we have to realise that there is not much basis for worry. To me, everything is done and dusted, leaving no room for worry. I wonder, but I don't worry. I get myself worked up enough to the point where my mind is alert and fully operational, but I never let it overwork itself with unnecessary worry. The key is to achieve the right level of nerves.

And just to emphasise how worry creates a huge part of self-induced stress, one of the key components of stress is summed up in the phrase: So much to do, but so little time with which to do so. It's all about time. And worry only adds to the time. The key is to not focus on the much, but be realistic and approach it in appropriate proportions. Don't overdo yourself. And when you are in prime position to take on the 'much', you have little to worry about. Be confident in your approach, and your destination is assured.

I also realise that a lot of self-induced stress, is due to competitive pressures, namely from peers. Always wanting to do better than the other person is stupid. It's like a race. You never look at your competitors to see where they are. An athlete would say that is the stupidest thing in a race, because it will make you lose. Stay focused on the running and eventually you'll hit that finish line. If your running is fantastic, you'll beat them. If not, you still ran your best and there's no way you could have done any better, unless you took drugs. So quit worrying about always being the best.

Of course there are a lot of other ways that can help conquer, and even prevent from the outset, self-induced stress. I'll just regurgitate a list of thoughts. Be organised, be prepared and enjoy yourself.

Haha. Enjoy yourself. That's the key bit. Stress is inevitable when you hate what you're doing. I've yet to see someone stressed by something they enjoy doing.

And what's a post from me without the Christian grounding? The key to conquering worry is to not worry at all. God will take care of your future, your destination. He has it all planned out. You only need to focus on the journey. Life is like a race. Keep running in the direction you're heading at the moment. God is like a 'Dopod' (A navigating device that uses GPS technology and mapping to help you reach your destination): He's your navigator, telling you where to run. All you have to do is focus on your running and listen to the directions. The path will not always be easy going; there will be those uphill rough moments - life ain't always pretty, but the view at the end of the path is nothing short of wholly satisfying. Just keep to the track. Remember that God's directions won't always appear rational to you at first. But if you can trust a Dopod to give you the right directions, what more the creator of you? And well, dont forget to fill up on God's strength. Keep yourself energised, able to run the race of life.

This concludes part 1 of the post. Tomorrow, I shall address externally-imposed stress, which is equally a real issue, especially with this kiasu-ness permeating our culture.

A millennium milestone

2006-12-08T18:06:00.000+08:00

This blog was started on October 09 2006, just two months ago.

And now I shall be hitting my 1000th official visitor on the official counter.

Which is actually set such that it records the number of unique visitors every 12 hours.

So anyways, at the time of this posting, it's 999 visitors.

Are you the 1000th?

Hope rising.

2006-12-07T22:46:00.000+08:00

Today's post is on a concept.

I've done love, although quite incompletely. Anyways, today's concept is hope.

What does hope mean?

To expect and desire
To look forward to with confidence or expectation

I took those two definitions off the web, felt that they came closest to defining hope.

Here's what wikipedia had to say:

Hope is an emotional belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances within one's personal life. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance —ie. believing that a positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary.

Hope is more emotional and less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality. But hope and optimism both can be based in unrealistic belief, or fantasy.

I quite liked the above description as well. But for reasons entirely different to what you might expect.

What examples of hope do we have nowadays? Hope of good grades? A good career? Man Utd winning the Premiership AND Champions League (not an unfounded hope by the way :P) ? Hope that the game we're playing later doesn't get rained off?

Let's see whether this fits our wiki-criteria above. Are they positive outcomes? Definitely. Do they imply a certain amount of perseverance? Yes. We have contrary evidence such as a lack of preparation, a lack of certainty.

Yet let's take a look at the definitions before that. Do we expect and desire the above? Duh. That's what hope is.

Isn't it?

'To look forward to with confidence and expectation'. Note that there is certainty implied here. So really the hope we had above is wishful thinking, because we are definitely not 100% certain.

Yet does hope become irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?

No.

Let's go back to the wiki definition. Hope is an emotional belief. Note the word belief. It means that for hope to exist, we have got to believe in something. Hope is what we emotionally derived from that belief. Let's go to the second part of the definition, the implication of perseverance, a positive outcome that is possible despite evidence to the contrary. This is where the wiki definition starts dying out. When we place our hope in something, and that something is only possible, then well your hope is possibly false hope.

So now we're looking for true hope. And this is where the wiki-definition completely dies. "Hope is less intellectual than optimism, which refers to a positive attitude based in rationality". I couldn't disagree more. The fact that hope isn't intellectual, isn't rational is shallow thinking.

The thought of man who can never find the eternal hope.

As such all hope is fleeting to man. And this is where the difference between false hope and true hope lies. For hope to be true, it has to be done in the confidence that the expected outcome WILL take place. Otherwise, hope is falsely placed, without rationality. False hope.

So having gone some way to define what hope REALLY is, we return to the question: Is hope irrelevant when we are 100% certain of the outcome?

Again, I repeat the answer no. Because hope is not only the belief, it's also the emotional belief. It's the strength given to you when you believe that something is definitely going to happen. The only issue is when. And hope sustains you between now and 'when'. Hope is what helps you persevere. Hope describes the wait.

Hope that is transient, hope that is false carries us through the ocean that is life, from reef to reef. A temporary bright spot in an otherwise bleak outcome. Until we arrive at that eternal hope, the belief that land is just beyond the horizon, and no matter where the ship takes you, you will reach there eventually.

So even if I did not make sense above, here's the wrap up. (For people who always come straight to this last paragraph, please do at least read the paragraph above this) Find what your hope is in. Find that 100% source of hope. The eternal hope that never ceases. And having put your hope in something that is true, cling on to it. Cling on to the belief and the hope that gives you. And hold out. Because a greater hope will come.

Lol.

I sound so dark and moody in my posts. Haha. But I do want to say that contrary to that, I'm actually quite a happy person. Because of the hope that I have in my life. I am free to dance along the waves, through the calm and through the storm, because I am already assured that all this is temporary, a journey to the eternal promise of a better life.

"We have already won!" - We Win! by David Crowder Band

Satisfaction Guaranteed, Part I

2006-12-06T23:11:00.000+08:00

Well, that title makes no sense at all.

Except for one thing.

There's no pleasing everybody, is there?

Lol. Some people complain posts are too long, some find them too heavy, some say that I am "succumbing to the populist blog trend" - or something along those lines.

Welll, time to set the record straight.

Firstly let's look at the title of my blog. You see, this blog was created with the intention of observing the reading culture of people today. Do people enjoy light insightful posts? Or some mumbo-jumbo? Or some really eccentric idea? Or deep spiritual thoughts?

And it seems that the result so far is: To each his own.

But anyways here is today's thought of the day:

Agnosticism.

There. Deep enough for you, Mr. "Succumbing to populist blog trends"?

Lol. Kidding.

Umm, anyways agnosticism, the belief that there is a God, but having nothing to do with Him. Basically it's a "I know you're up there but I dont bother you and therefore you dont bother me" kind of attitude. Sort of.

Also called the fence sitters, the group of people between atheism and theism.

Well, if they were fence sitters, we would need a very big fence. Because there's definitely a lot of them. Especially of people I know. People who believe in a God, but nothing beyond that.

I find that notion quite stupid. Sorry if that came across as insulting.

Let's use an illustration I saw on a video.

Imagine that all that is is in a box. We call it the cosmic cube, and in it is matter, energy and spirits. A physicist would tell you that in the physical sense, there is only matter and energy. And for those of you who believe in spirits, which I believe most do, we have therefore included the spirits.

Now where does God fit into that picture?

Some put him in the box, as a spirit. We therefore get our bear-gods, or monkey-gods, or whatever, which really are just matter-spirits.

Most agnostics place him outside the box.

Now this comes the crucial part of the illustration. We put God outside the box. What is His relationship to that in the box?

I won't have enough time to explore all the angles, and therefore this approach is not definitively complete, but let's give it a shot.

Some believe he created the cosmic cube. Some believe the cosmic cube and God have just always existed. This second view actually doesnt make sense, because if history stretches back to infinity, we are therefore living in the infinite future, and all that time-scale stuff just falls apart, and therefore there must be a definite beginning to the finite object. As the cosmic cube is finite, it must have come into being at some point. Applying the same logic to God, as he is the embodiment of infinity, the eternal Being, there's really no need to pinpoint his start and end.

Anyways, regardless of whichever people feel is true, here's where things begin to differ. Some people believe that God is not only outside the cube, but he is present and inside as well, in a two way relationship. He hears what we have to say and sees what is going on from the outside, and acts inside the cube. This two way relationship makes the most logical sense. Because let's look at the alternatives.

The first alternative is that God is looking and observing the cube but does not bother to act within the cube. Now, if you think hard about that, that would make him an irrelevant being, because if actions are only going one way, from the cube to God, but nothing is coming back, it would make logical sense to disclude him from everything.

The second alternative is that God is blind, a frantic director who has lost control of his set. This means God is involved in the cube, but is so utterly bewildered that he's not really observing the whole cube is he? Because if he was, then he would see everything, beginning to end, and everything should be within his control. Therefore, this doesnt seem to work either, because it reduces God to being within the cube, and not outside, and he's then no better off than being another spirit in a pantheistic world.

Well, what is the conclusion of all this? I know I havent really covered all my angles, but after all it's only a blog post. Yet, it seems that a lot of logic seems to be pointing towards the fact that not only is God outside the cube and in total control, but He is inside and working amongst us. Now, if we take that view - of course this assumes that you do believe a God, a bigger eternal entity exists - we are forced to make a decision. Either choose to ignore this fact, or deal with it. That if God is not only in control of everything but is amongst us and active, then how do you relate to Him?

Because the consequences of not deciding this are huge, as we shall examine in the next part of my series of thoughts over the next few days. We may ignore His presence, His sovereignty, but where does that leave us? Until tomorrow, this is all from me.

Oh yeah, one final unrelated thought. Was browsing through the online economist and came across this. Pretty funny, the opening paragraphs. Hope the ISA don't show up at my doorstep tomorrow.

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8362605

Well, happy reading!

Ahhh...

2006-12-05T21:20:00.000+08:00

Clarity. Finally.

Lol.

My mind seems to be functioning properly again.

Well, seems that I have a math progress test tomorrow.

For the first time, math bothers me. Bleargh.

Because at the moment I have no idea how to do anything regarding momentum and impulse, and circular motion, and simple harmonic motion. Oh, and reduction formulae.

I guess that's what I get for not bothering to do enough practice questions.

Oh well, on the bright side at least statistics is a piece of cake, and so's the rest of pure.

Anyways, it's 5 December 2006. 8 more days of school left. 20 days to Christmas. And 27 days to Passion!

Haha.

And my thought of the day:

If everyone made a resolution to never go to Alex's Million Dollar Homepage, well, he won't have a million dollars. It's the most nonsense thing I've ever heard. Why do people go there? Really. As if we never have enough of pop up ads, we go to a page full of the very adverts we want to avoid.

And he has a new scheme, to make a 2 million dollar homepage. Well he calls it Pixelotto. He charges $2 for every pixel. Takes $1 million for himself, and the other $1 million will go to some lucky person who visits the site. Of course, this is pre-tax revenue.

Let's use a bit of economics here. Do we all want to have a chance - a very miniscule one at that - of winning the $1 million, before tax? Or will we derive more satisfaction of denying Alex his $1 million by not going to his page at all after weighing it up against our slim odds of winning the $1 million? I mean the boy decides that he has enough of school, and embarks on all these hairbrain schemes of his, which really just exploits the greed and/or ignorance of everyone else, and makes money.

From something he should not even be earning a cent!

I think I'm going to start a movement here.

"Send Alex back to school!"

Nottingham University precisely.

Spread the word peopleeee. Hahaha.

Umm. Yeahhhh. Alright. Should be getting back to my math revision now.

Bleargh.

2006-12-04T20:03:00.000+08:00

Woke up today with a fever and an ache. So much for not falling sick.

And since I'm feeling quite sick, my thought process is very much hampered.

The "bleargh" feeling...

But here's my thought of the day...

Nothing.

Is it possible to think about nothing?

It's quite an impossible concept to grasp. But I managed it somewhat today, until now of course. And the key is to be so caught up in routine or something else that you have no time to think.

Of course when I use the word 'think', I refer to meaningful thought, not thinking about whether to use the bathroom or eat first.

But today felt like such a waste. I felt like I've been in a stupor. I've been mentally numb, and as a result have been incapable of starting work.

How do you get started on days like these? It just feels so bleargh.

And then I realised: It's not uncommon for people to wake up some days and just feel this way.

If we fail to find meaning and purpose in our lives, we're in for a very sad existence indeed.

And since "existence" and "nothing" seem to me to be the opposite sides of the same coin, well the only way you end up thinking about nothing is when you forget about your existence.

When we get so busy or fall sick, such illness clouds our perspective. And when our perspective only focuses on the short term, it's hard to shrug off such illnesses, because they do precisely that - cloud the short term.

Take the eternal perspective I say.

Haha. This makes it a record. Two philosophical statements in two straight days. Dumb 'blearghness'.

Time to get to work. But first I must sleep. I really need to get well soon. Urgh.

The global problem

2006-12-03T21:22:00.000+08:00

(This post has been edited as of 10.40pm, Malaysian time. Premature publishing occured.)

As I deduce through some brief thinking. Oh yeah, this could possibly be rated as one of those 'preach-ier' posts. I'll let you decide but don't say you weren't warned if you read anything that disturbs you greatly. Although it should. Disturb you, I mean.

Today's post may be slightly heavier than usual (except that I wonder how many really read my post from start to finish), but I'll try to keep it concise - by the way concise means to the point not just short.

Nowadays, "fundamentalism" seems like a bad word. We have "fundamentalist Islamic terrorists' who are seen as a global threat, we have "fundamentalist Christians" who are seen as a hinderance to progress, and uh yeah...that's all I can think of right now.

In a way this kind of aids my statement, that fundamentalism isn't the problem today.

Let me define fundamentalism first. Fundamentalism can be seen as a religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism. That definition was taken off an online dictionary.

But really fundamentalism just means going back to the fundamental, the very basic principles of a faith.

Anyways, we often view fundamentalism as the problem today - it's such an emotionally charged word, especially with the media coverage it gets. In America, there was that whole Intelligent Design vs Evolution thing just this year. We have all these huge terrorist acts, such as 9/11 or the London July bombings. We blame fundamentalist groups for the instability in the Middle East - the Iraq situation, Iran, Hezbollah and the whole Lebanon-Israel issue. In Lebanon itself, things are beginning to heat up. Closer to home, there was that issue about the Muslim-Christian clashes on that Indonesian island - can't recall the name - which took place a few years back, and the purported responsible three Christians were recently executed. Then there was the 2004 Bali bombings. And all the other JI activity. And the list possibly drags on longer. Yet as much as it is possibly a problem, there is a much bigger problem out there.

It's called secularism - the abandon of God. Where man believes he writes his own story. He commands his own destiny. He fulfills his own purpose. He lives his own life.

And secularism has an infinite capacity to destroy. You only need to examine the historical record. To cite a few, we have the Crusades, the Bolshevik Revolution leading to the formation of the Soviet Union, World War 2, the rise of Communist China, 9/11, the Middle East crisis today, global poverty, e.t.c.

And the record is horrible to behold. Hundreds of millions have died as a result of secularism. Secularism, the abandon of God, has not only left its own mark, but it has distorted the very fundamental principles of God. It is the ultimate illusion, that there is no God, and the most potent weapon in the devil's arsenal.

America's disgrace today has resulted from their move towards secularism. This great nation is truly plagued with this disease, that is eating away at the very moral framework that the founding fathers built America upon. This has in turn led to many of the problems we have today, like the Middle East crisis. America (I'm referring to the government of course) has forgotten God and as a result it has made very bad choices. One was the Vietnam War. Another was the handling of the Middle East situation - which has given excuse to rising fundamentalist terrorism.

Outside of America, we have the destructive effects of Communism. Stalin's human rights record is abominable. Historians have yet to come up with an accurate calculation of the number of deaths under Stalin's rule but they estimate to be around 40 million people. And this is just limited to Stalin's reign. When we expand past that, we have the record of what poverty has done to the people living under Soviet rule for three quarters of a century. We look at Mao Ze Dong's Great Leap Forward. Yet another disaster. Estimates place the death count at 80 million, although the Chinese government states that it is lower at around 60 million.

And then we look at the issue of poverty. It is such a complicated problem to resolve as poverty has been the result of many varying factors, from internal strife, to civil wars, to war in general, to past exploitation by imperialist powers, to present exploitation by corrupt rulers, to ignorance of the root problem by richer countries. Why has this happened? Because everyone's looking out for number one.

And that brings us to the issue of...us. A lot of the people reading this probably believe in God. But big news indeed...even Satan believes in God. Yet we often see Him as this remote uncaring being, ignoring all the evils and suffering of this world, all the unfairness, all our problems.

Here's the newsflash - we caused those problems. Each and everyone of them. Because we chose to turn our backs on God. Man is full of depravity. We may be made in the image of God (which in turn puts us in a special position in creation - another article for another time), but we are evil, fallen.

And then here's the second newsflash - well God did do something. We expect a magic word to cure all of the problems today. But God saw the global problem - secularism, the sin of turning away from God.

The world is a dark place, make no doubt. Past all the pleasure and fun we enjoy, there is a greater looming darkness. You'd think me being paranoid, or being overly preachy, or being overly pessimistic, or whatever you want to call it. Yet the reality of it all is that we oftentimes choose to ignore this one overbearing fact. And continue to be trapped in the chains of our illusions.

I think I'll end this with two paragraphs regarding a favourite album of mine, by David Crowder Band titled "A Collision". Crowder writes it much better than me anyways:

"And while we yet were sinners, Christ died for us. He did not leave us alone. He stepped into our condition to bring us back to God. To bring us back to what was intended. The divine, bearing all depravity. The most horrific of collisions. The most tragic and beautiful. The breaking is glorious and loud. We have won. It might not feel like it. You might not/can't see it just yet. But the reality of our situation is that rescue is present. Every second of life is spent in the very presence of god. There is not a second of human history that He has not been present. Majesty is here. And it is coming. Finally. Just be quiet. And wait."

"I believe that we are part of a bigger story unfolding. I believe that the rescue of creation has been coming toward us for a long time. I believe that sure, there was a moment that I was found by this rescue and that I am rescued continually, but the even greater thing, the thing that expands in my chest in this moment is that there is more coming! He is coming to set things right. He is coming to set things straight. He is coming and this is tremendously hard to take in, but our hearts swell and this tide of hope grows and after all of this, after this brokenness, after these tears, after this fury, after this tearing that is life...finally, finally...we will lift up our heads...finally...and the clouds will break...and finally...He who is all light and healing... finally... finally... majesty."

"When our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision"

Time travel

2006-12-02T14:33:00.000+08:00

Ingredients needed: A very fast plane.

Here's the hypothetical situation. Let's say I leave Malaysia at 6am in the morning. And my plane travels at the speed of time, westward.

Whoa. How does that work? Travelling at the speed of time?

Well since time as we know it is defined by man, and since we define it using the GMT system, the plane would really just need to travel at that GMT speed. So in other words we trap ourselves at 6am.

And there we go flying around the world.

Whoa - you've made human time stand still - although your biological clock is still ticking away.

Then here's where it gets complicated. I'm still trying to figure out whether this really happens.

Supposed I travel at the GMT speed. And then I reach the international deadline. How fun. What happens at this point?

I assume we will travel into the future. It's still 6am but the next day. All in the space of a nanosecond.

And voila - time travel!

Mmmm...

2006-12-01T22:34:00.000+08:00

Havent had much time to think about today's post, what with the SAT Subject Tests and all.

And the irony is that I'm getting discouraged by the convoluted process of US applications. Bleargh.

But don't worry I always have something on my mind.

Today's subject looks to be slightly more philosophical:

"Is there a reason for everything?"

OK. I'm typing this at 10:37 pm at night. I have to be up by 6 tomorrow. And this is going to be one of those long ones if I dont limit myself here.

So here's my answer: Yes. Almost. Until you step out of the 'box'. There you will find a 'universal constant ' that gives reason to everything. The irony is that for there to be a reason for everything, you need to have faith in this one unexplainable 'universal constant'. Which beggars the secondary question of whether faith and reason are really paradoxical concepts.

Haha. No time to elaborate on that yet.

But you can think about it.

Curious things.

2006-11-30T18:12:00.000+08:00

Have you ever wondered about music and its uniqueness?

That if you broke music down on a scientific level, you just get frequencies and amplitudes.

Yet for some reason that concoction of sound interests us. It stirs us. It amazes us. It fills us. It moves us.

How many have watched a horror movie on mute? Not very scary is it. The movie soundtrack is what sets your heart beating. I realised that if you realise what the music is doing to you, you're usually not afraid of what pops up.

The same goes for any other movies. An action movie will almost indefinitely require an adrenalin packed soundtrack with lots of bass beats. One of those sad-want-to-make-you-cry movies will have a touching piece being played at the sad moments. Serious moments get defined by serious music. Jolly moments often play out through jolly sounding tracks.

There is music to soothe, music to excite, music to touch, music to work up, music to arouse e.t.c.

How many have unconsciously sung along to an unknow yet catchy tune?

How many of you have a song going through your head right now the moment you read this post?

In fact, how many are listening to your music players now?

Ahh. Fascinating isn't it?

And sometimes in a song, you get so wrapped up in the music that you find yourself unconsciously mouthing the lyrics.

Honestly, how many have looked at the lyrics they are singing?

(Seriously, on a side note, I think Justin Timberlake has some issues regarding his music. Who calls his album "Future Sex Love Sounds"?)

Some of you might be offended but i think there's a lot of trash out there disguised in amazing music.